Katsuki's Pet Needs
by nerdlife4eva
Summary: Yuuri Katsuki owns a small pet store in a little town on the coast. He loves running his own business, and especially loves Sundays when his best friend, Phichit, runs adoption events for his animal rescue organization in his store. Victor Nikiforov has always wanted a dog, excitedly attending the scheduled pet adoption hoping to find his first furever friend. Another universe wher
1. Chapter 1

**This entire fic is a gift to the wonderful The Floral Fox who sent the idea for this fic to me as a prompt on Tumblr. I have zero self-control and turned this into an entire fic! Thank you for sharing this wonderful idea with me, and I hope I made you happy with this one! There are predicted to be 3 chapters in this, but who knows, I could run away with it completely and write another 80,000+ word fic. Only time will tell on this one :)**

 **If you have a fic idea (or a drabble that you want probably at least 1,500 words for) please come see me on Tumblr! n3rdlif343va**

* * *

Sundays were Yuuri's favorite days. As the owner of a tiny pet shop, he loved the slow pace of Sunday mornings, paired with the loving chaos of Sunday afternoon. There were hardly ever customers when he first unlocked the poodle-sticker covered glass front doors on Sunday mornings, allowing him to spend extra time with the smaller loves which lived inside of the shop.

The left wall was a boxed sea of colorful fish, each group residing in their own carefully decorated tanks, stacked 10 by 3 over the span of the wall. With his father's help, Yuuri had backlit the wall with a beautiful rainbow of lights, making it eye-catching and dreamy all at once.

In the center of shop housed the smaller rodents. Fluffy hamsters running on their wheels with their adorably chubby legs, tiny mice sleeping in a pile at the corner of their cage, and noisy guinea pigs always searching for something more to eat. On Sunday mornings, Yuuri took extra time to lovingly lift each of them from their cages, planting kisses to their furry heads and snuggling each of them close for an extended amount of time. They were his babies for only a temporary amount of time, destined to fulfill the snuggling desires of other pet-loving furparents.

Once the cuddling was complete and the fish had all been fed, Yuuri slowly looked through the vast expanse of his merchandise wall. Taking over the entire right hand side of the store were hooks with leashes, shelves with feeding bowls, and stacks upon stacks of pet food. It was another organizational creation that had been built by his father's skilled hands, and Yuuri worked tirelessly to keep it presentable.

Stepping into the blocked off tub area, Yuuri checked the pet shampoo dispensers mounted above each tub to ensure that they were filled to the brim. The tubs were his favorite part of the store, a constant source of laughter as pet owners paid their fifteen dollars to be covered in wet fur and dripping soap suds. The tubs meant there was a constant flow of dogs for Yuuri to love on and he thanked himself every day for this stroke of brilliance.

His business was small, but his absolute love for everything he did filled the corners of the tiny store front. It was a bright and welcoming color scheme of blue and white, complimented with the stickers of various types of paw prints plastered across the floor. Katsuki's Pet Needs didn't need to be big to have everything any pet owner could ever want.

Returning to the front desk, Yuuri plucked the ringing phone from its charger next to the cash register. "Katuski's Pet Needs, if your pet needs it, we've got it!" He sang cheerfully into the phone. The slogan had been his sister's idea, and while Yuuri was positive she was only half serious with the suggestion, he had immediately fallen in love with his catchphrase.

Muffled crumbling greeted his ear through the receiver. "Um… hello?" Yuuri pulled it back to look at the caller ID seeing a familiar name. "Phichit! Put the hamsters down and talk to me!" He laughed when his best friend's apology squeaked through the phone.

"Yuuri! Are we still good for today?" Yuuri heard more rustling as Phichit spoke, suspecting that Phichit had indeed not put his hamsters down. "Seung-gil is bringing his fosters, and I think Minami is coming in with two of his. Oh!" Yuuri waited as Phichit shuffled papers, the noise loudly destroying Yuuri's ear drum. "Yuri P. is bringing the kittens! There are six of them, although I am pretty sure Otabek said that Yuri is keeping four. Because he is determined to be the crazy cat man or something." Phichit laughed and Yuuri joined him.

"It sounds like it is going to be a full house, P!" Yuuri had scribbled down the pet breakdown, mentally assessing how many bowls and crates would be needed for the day. "I hope we can find them all good homes!"

"Me too," Phichit sighed, and Yuuri could swear he could hear his best friend talking softly on the other end. "Hey, I am bringing the new foster too, the one you are going to take, remember? She is really shut down, man, she is only coming out of the crate as of this morning. And she is going to need a bath. Lots of tangles and long nails, ya know."

Yuuri felt his heart break in his chest. He hated when the foster animals of Phichit's pet rescue came in with notable damage to their spirits along with destruction to their physical beings. Yuuri had never intended to foster, although he spent lots of time helping Phichit with the rescue including letting them run adoption events on Sunday afternoons in the shop. When his dog had died a year ago though, Yuuri couldn't bear the thought of all the helpless animals having nowhere safe to go and wanted to help in any way he could.

The foster dog Phichit was referring to was a brown mass of curly poodle fur, pulled from another shelter a mere two days before she would have been put to sleep. Yuuri had seen the dog's picture online and had begged Phichit to save her. Even though she was sizably larger than his own late dog, the brown fur and kind eyes stole Yuuri's heart in the first millisecond that he saw her. If it wasn't for his small loft above the pet store, Yuuri would have kept her for himself. But a dog her size needed space to move and run, and Yuuri knew there would be a perfect home for her somewhere. Hopefully a home with a family who would be kind enough to let Yuuri visit.

"Katsuki?" Phichit's voice chimed in his ear, bringing Yuuri back to their current conversation.

"Sorry! Yes, can you come an hour early? If you will watch the front of the store, I'll get her all cleaned up and ready to go!" Yuuri listened to Phichit confirm this plan and then wished him goodbye, slipping the now silent phone back into its holder. He had exactly two hours before the foster animals and their foster dads would begin to arrive, and a lot of setting up to do beforehand. Smiling to himself, Yuuri lifted his apron over his head, hanging it on its hook and heading to the back room to retrieve all of the needed supplies.

* * *

Victor laid on his couch, thumbing through the pet rescue listing on his phone. It had been six days since he had finally made a decision regarding his need for companionship. Work had finally settled down and he wasn't going to be traveling over the next year, giving him plenty of time to train and develop a relationship with his very own furbaby. He hadn't ever had a dog, but he had spent his entire life wanting one. The timing felt right and he had been obsessively scanning over the local pet rescue page, waiting for a dog to scream _mine_.

Switching to his Twitter app, he sat up straight looking at the post from the rescue. An adoption event was scheduled to take place at a familiar store which was within walking distance to Victor's home. Glancing behind him at the clock on the wall, Victor noted he had a little less than two hours before the event started. Pushing from the couch, he went in pursuit of clothing and shoes, his heart thudding in his chest.

An insistent ripple was tingling under Victor's skin. He was being pulled to the pet adoption, something in him was telling him that he needed to get to the store and now. Attempting to take calming breaths, he ducked into his closet, yanking down random garments and shoving them onto his body. The feeling of excitement was flooding his chest, pushing on his lungs and making his heart ache. Today was going to be the day he found his best friend, he just _knew_ it.

Swiftly slipping his shoes onto his feet, Victor exited the cerulean blue door at the front of his house. He jogged down the front steps, pausing at the bottom to tilt his head trying to remember if he locked his door. Huffing at his own unsure thoughts, Victor took the stairs two-by-two and turned the forgotten lock. He was jumpy and excited, the unsettled and exhilarating feeling had him skipping down the sidewalk, hopefully headed to a brighter future full of snuggly fur and wet kisses.

* * *

The phone rang again as Yuuri righted the last table, smoothing Phichit's deep blue table cloth over the top of it. Jogging lightly, Yuuri smiled at the caller ID, answering with a simple "hi!"

"Hey!" Phichit sarcastically quipped into the line, "why didn't I get the catchphrase greeting?"

Yuuri snickered at Phichit's pretend outrage, "are you here?" Yuuri leaned off of the counter to spy Phichit waving from the side of the rescue van. "Be right out!" Leaving the phone laying on the counter, Yuuri strode from the front of the store, eagerness seeping into every step. When his eyes fell on the sweet, downturned head of his first foster dog, Yuuri felt his entire heart melt into a sappy puddle. Even with her hesitation to lift her gaze, Yuuri could see her soft eyes seeking love. They were kindred spirits, he could feel it, as he lowered himself to the sidewalk waiting to see if she would come to him.

"Hi, sweetheart," Yuuri cooed, leaving both of his hands palm up on his knees. Each hand held a different treat, and his fingers remained softly uncurled, waiting with his heart hanging by the threads of hope.

A warm, rough tongue licked the treat from Yuuri's right palm, quickly moving on to his left palm to collect the other treat. Yuuri smiled with fondness at the tangled fur covering the poor dog's face. Shifting, he lifted one hand to allow her to sniff him. Instead, he found himself flat on his back, sprawled over the sidewalk with a wet tongue disheveling his glasses as sloppy dog kisses covered all of his exposed skin.

Phichit grinned, squatting down to loop the leash around Yuuri's wrist. "She wouldn't even look at me, even after three days," Phichit sighed, pushing back up to close his van door. "I guess you are the right foster for her after all! But… don't foster fail the first time, because I need all the foster homes I can get right now!"

Yuuri was trying to listen to Phichit, but he was too busy giggling into the neck of the dog who continued to lavish him with love. Maybe it was the peanut butter treat, maybe it was dog jerky treat, or maybe… and Yuuri hoped most likely… this sweet pup understood their similarities. Indulging in a few more snuggles, Yuuri finally forced himself to a standing position and tugged the dog's leash. "Come on, baby," Yuuri smiled down as he opened the store door, "let's get you cleaned up!" He laughed as she bounded behind him, head twitching back and forth taking in all the sights and sounds of his shop.

Together they walked back to the isolated washing stalls. Yuuri paused, letting her decide when she was comfortable with jumping into the tub. Talking softly, Yuuri lathered soap into the matted fur, wincing every time his fingers got stuck in a knot. For her part, the dog lazily lapped at the running water, seemingly unaffected by Yuuri's struggles to clean her fur. She would need to have her skin treated, Yuuri noted, as he counted the scabs across her hind quarters, and her teeth definitely needed to be cleaned. The clack of her nails across the wood floor of the store had sounded painful, and Yuuri made a mental note to clip her nails as soon as they had finished with the bath.

He glanced up at the front door when the chime sounded. The mixture of dog barks, cat meows and bird calls that made up the unique Canon D inspired jingle always made him giggle. With a soaked shirt sleeve and soap covered hand, Yuuri waved as the other members of Phichit's rescue entered in a tornado of barking, hissing and laughter.

Luckily, Yuuri never had to worry about organizing for Phichit's events or talking to any of the adopters. He let the rescue use the space free of charge and got to spend an afternoon loving on cats and dogs. As far as Yuuri was concerned, it was a perfect arrangement.

His moment of distraction left him vulnerable to the shake attack forged by his new buddy. As brown fur flung over the slim back, Yuuri laughed covering his face with his hand to avoid being completely soaked through.

It was at that exact moment that Victor entered the store. He had walked by Katsuki's Pet Needs multiple times but always felt too self-conscious to go in. Without having a pet of his own, he really didn't _need_ to go in to shop, and the adorable man who was always behind the counter would probably think he was weird. Now though, with the widely advertised pet adoption and Victor's already completed adoption application logged online, Victor had the perfect excuse to finally walk through the doors of the welcoming haven of pet supplies.

Through the doors and straight down a never-ending slide of falling in love, to be exact. There were many dogs sitting in the open space at the front of the store, all sporting adorable dark blue bandanas with the words "adopt me" stamped on them. Despite how cute each of them inevitably was, Victor found his attention immediately drawn to the adorable dark-haired man currently battling the cutest fur monster Victor had ever seen. Stumbling over his own feet, Victor vaguely processed the greeting being aimed his way as he crossed to the back of the store. He knew he was staring, but he was useless to stop it. The man and the dog were a breath-taking pair and Victor spent all fifteen of his last steps trying to decide which one he wanted to take home, finally deciding that both would be good. Leaning awkwardly onto the top of the wall, Victor tried to appear casual as he squeaked out his greeting. His voice was obnoxiously high-pitched and he tried again, this time resulting in a greeting so low in tone it sounded like he was aiming to be the next Darth Vader. If embarrassment could kill, Victor would be at least six feet under.

Slowly Yuuri processed the absolutely stunning human being who was attempting to speak to him. Turning his gaze toward the soaking mess of a dog, he chortled when she seemed to raise her eyebrows at him. Yuuri firmly believed that dogs had personalities like humans, and he could tell that this dog's personality was rare and more human-like than most. A twinge of sadness prickled his heart when he reminded himself that he couldn't keep her. Kissing the wet nose, Yuuri registered the small gasp coming from the model-like man still draped over the barrier wall.

"Is she yours?" Victor breathed, eyes darting between the pair.

"Um… no," Yuuri said with unexpected hesitancy, "she's my foster dog. She'll be available for adoption in the next few days." Again the sadness squeezed at Yuuri's heart and he pecked another kiss to the dog's nose.

 _Was there a feeling beyond elation?_ Victor wondered to himself, practically bouncing on his toes at the news. "What's her name?" Victor wanted to shout _dibs!_ but figured that would only result in making him look like a nutcase.

Frowning, Yuuri looked down at his furry bath mate. Yelling over his shoulder, Yuuri addressed Phichit from across the store. "Phichit!" He waited until his best friend looked up and nodded, "what's her name in the system?" Yuuri nodded toward the dog as he brushed through the tangles in her fur.

"Vicchan!" Phichit yelled back. "In honor of-"

Yuuri cut him off, knowing that if his best friend finished that thought, Yuuri would be crying into the new Vicchan's coat.

Wrinkling his nose, Victor shook his head. "Vicchan sounds like a boy name! She needs a girl name." Tapping a finger to his lips, Victor smiled and jumped, "aha! Makkachin! Makkachin is a much better name for that sweet baby." The last three words sounded as if Victor was talking to an infant.

Yuuri generally hated baby talk directed at animals, but somehow he found this man's intonation adorable. "Do you think…" Yuuri trailed off, trying to temper his own disappointment, "do you think that you would want to adopt her?" It was only his luck that his first foster would get an application for adoption before he had even had her for twenty-four hours.

"Yes of course!" Victor squealed, clapping his hands and causing the dog to boof at him. Laughing, Victor waved to her. "Hi, Makkachin! Don't you like that name better? Do you want to come home with me?" When Makkachin boofed back at him, Victor's smile turned into a heart-breaking beam of happiness.

"Well," Yuuri tried to swallow down his instant attraction to this absolutely delightful man, "go see Phichit and fill out an application. If all of your references check out and your home visit goes well, she could be yours within a few days!" Yuuri tried to sound cheerful, but he was already attached to the wiggling ball of fluff in front of him. Maybe fostering wasn't going to be for him, after all.

Victor skipped through the store, crashing into the front of the blue-clothed table, he was greeted by an overzealous young man with yellow and red hair. The name "Minami" was stitched over the boy's company shirt, and Victor couldn't help but to fall victim to the boy's enthusiasm. They chatted as Minami logged into the online system, verifying that Victor had indeed been approved for adoption, with only the home visit to be completed before Makkachin could officially be his. His references had already been checked out, apparently with glowing results according to Minami. Victor smiled knowing his house was meticulously organized, including the decent-sized fenced in backyard. It would be perfect for the energetic ball of fluff currently wrestling on the ground with the man Victor also wanted to make his.

Thanking Minami, Victor weaved back through the tables, placing kisses and cuddles on each of the dogs. There was a small part of him that wondered if he could take them all, but he knew that one dog would be enough, at least for now, and he moved along before he could second guess that decision.

"Makka, sweetheart! Hold still!" Yuuri couldn't help his flood of giggles as Makkachin (the name fit too perfectly not to use it) continued to bat at his hands. It was obvious that his now clean and fluffy companion thought that nail clipping was nothing more than a handshaking game. "Alright, girl, come on now," Yuuri laced his legs around her waist and pulled her into his body, finally gaining enough control to clip her nails.

It was the first time that Victor had ever been viciously jealous of a dog. Makka was pressed into the slight body, the strong legs wrapped around her were controlling firm, but obviously not painful. Victor's thoughts immediately went elsewhere, and before he could stop himself, he was plunking down on the floor next to the struggling mass of limbs and fur. Reaching a hand out, he jumped when a wet tongue licked him up the wrist.

"She likes you," Yuuri said, a little more breathless than he should have been. As the blush crept over his cheeks, Yuuri buried his face closer to Makkachin's clean fur, concentrating on the clipping of her back toe nails, instead of the heated closeness of the gorgeous man pressing his knee against Yuuri's.

"Well, I love her," Victor chuckled as he nuzzled into Makkachin's neck, "she smells so good! You did a great job getting her clean… um…" Victor frowned, realizing he didn't know the name of the man he was currently crushing over. "What's your name?" He saw the flush take over the round cheeks again and Victor felt his heart bursting. _How could so much cuteness exist in his immediate vicinity?_ Between the dog and the man, Victor felt like he was floating on a cloud of pure infatuation.

"Yuuri," he said, sitting up and releasing Makkachin, who immediately pounced back into his lap. "Yuuri Katsuki," he laughed, watching as Makkachin pursued the same level of affection from Victor. When Victor squealed with delight, wrestling onto the floor with the dog, Yuuri was positive that he knew exactly what people meant by love at first sight.

From under the weight of Makkachin, who had decided to splay her body over her to-be daddy's torso, Victor's smile became blindingly bright. "Is this your shop?" He tried to sit up, failing miserably and resorting to wrapping his arms around the furry body draped over his own.

"Yeah," Yuuri looked around, trying to imagine the place through someone else's eyes. Pride filled his chest as he pushed up from the floor. "It's me and the pets, not a bad way to spend the working day." Smiling, he offered his hand to Victor, pulling the other man from the ground. They stumbled together when Makkachin planted her front paws on Victor's hips. A hand circled around his waist, pressing into Yuuri's lower back and forcing his chest flush with the slightly taller one. "Um…" Yuuri swallowed, his entire body reacting to their closeness making his cheeks heat again. He was a bashful man, but his blushing in the last twenty minutes was out of control, even for him. "What's your name?" Yuuri managed to force out of his tightening throat.

"Victor," he breathed, not releasing his grip on Yuuri's waist, even with the snickers echoing behind his head from the rescue employees. He noted the rise of tears in Yuuri's eyes, panicking and raising a hand to stroke the soft cheeks. For a moment, he considered losing his mind and kissing him right there in the store. Checking his own desires, Victor dropped his hands and took a step back. "Sorry… I… well…" he tossed his hands in random flutters in the air.

"Sorry," Yuuri wiped a hand across his face, "it's… um… well… Vicchan was my dog's name. It is an affectionate form of Victor in my native language," Yuuri twirled his index fingers in circles. "It caught me by surprise is all. Your name that is. Your name caught me by surprise." _It's fate!_ Yuuri's brain screamed, while the rational part of him told it to shut the hell up. Swallowing hard, Yuuri patted Makkachin's head before gaining the courage to look at Victor again. "So, do you think you will adopt her?" His fingers ran smoothly through Makkachin's curls and he smiled brighter at the floppy mess of hair. Once the shop closed, he would at least trim the hair around her face.

"Oh! Yes!" Victor exclaimed, stepping forward into Yuuri's personal space again. "My application is already approved, and the home visit is tomorrow! So if all goes well, Makkachin will be home by Wednesday!" He saw the smile grow a little sad on Yuuri's face and a million ideas hit him at once. "Say, what time does this place close?" Victor looked around for a sign that could answer his question.

"I close at six on Sundays," Yuuri looked quizzically at Victor, almost able to see the wheels turning beneath his silver hair.

"How about you help me pick up everything I need for Makkachin," squatting down, Victor rubbed the dog's cheeks, "and you can help too!" He kissed her nose and hugged her once more before standing. "And then you two could come have dinner at my house tonight! Makkachin can explore and you can make sure that the place is right for her."

Yuuri faltered for only a second. "I don't do the home visits for the rescue, so it won't be official or anything." He wanted to say yes, but for his own reasons. He wasn't sure that Victor was thinking the same thoughts though and that left the distaste of hesitation on his tongue.

"Well, you are her foster daddy, so your opinion matters to me too," Victor grabbed Yuuri's wrist and dragged him toward the wall of dog accessories, "please, it will be fun! And I will make you anything you want!"

"Do it!" yelled Phichit from his place behind the blue tables, making Yuuri's cheeks burn again.

Shooting threatening daggers over his shoulder at Phichit, Yuuri allowed Victor to continue to guide him across the floor. "Okay, we'll come over as soon as the store closes," Yuuri looked down where Victor's fingers were wrapped around his wrist, feeling the tempting burn on his skin.

"Great!" Victor tugged Yuuri closer and hugged his shoulders. "Now, help me spend boat loads of money on my new daughter!"

Laughing into the back of his hand, Yuuri shook his head knowing without a doubt that he was blindly falling for a man whose last name he didn't know. With that thought loudly rattling in the back of his mind, Yuuri spent the better part of the next hour keeping Victor from buying all of the dog clothes in the shop and making sure he did buy all the things Makkachin would need. When he rang up all the purchases, he rang in a twenty percent discount, telling Victor it was for anyone who was adopting a pet during the event. When Victor left, his address and phone had been scribbled on an order form and Yuuri had entered his own phone number in Victor's phone.

"A discount for adopters, huh?" Phichit was at his shoulder as Yuuri and Makkachin watched Victor joyfully make his way down the street, arms loaded with Katsuki's Pet Needs bags. "That's a new one."

Yuuri felt the nudge in his side and blushed for the hundredth time. "Shut up, Phichit," Yuuri mumbled, elbowing his best friend back.

Sundays were always Yuuri's favorite days in his shop, but this Sunday in particular was definitely the best one he had ever had.


	2. Chapter 2

**This AU is also going to continue for the long haul! I'm sorry for everyone wondering if there would be an update, I have been struggling with uploading on this site for weeks! So much content to be added today!**

* * *

The commotion of closing down an adoption event always left Yuuri a little winded. Table cloths were piled into the small washing machine in Yuuri's office, tables were folded and returned to the storage room, and furry pets of all sizes ran in between their feet as bowls and crates were collected. Twice, Yuuri nearly landed on his face when Makkachin weaved directly between his legs. He recognized the hesitation on her face, bending to reassure her that he wasn't mad. The resulting licks and cuddles made every ounce of his patience worth it.

For the remaining hours of the day, Makkachin had never been more than a foot away from Yuuri's legs. She was friendly with all of the other dogs and charmed every customer that arrived in the shop. No longer was her face dropped toward the ground in a defeated hang of heartache. It had been amazing to watch her come out of her shell, and Yuuri felt his own pride blossoming over the way Makkachin was opening up. There was a sense of comfort in having Makkachin's cheerful presence by his side, and Yuuri had to push away the mix of sadness and nostalgia that crept into his heart.

As pets were loaded into carriers and the foster dads gathered their personal supplies, Yuuri leaned against his front counter observing the organized chaos. The store had locked its doors thirty minutes prior, but his friends were still clamoring around the entrance getting themselves organized for the week ahead.

"Yuuri!" The sound of his name had Yuuri snapping his head up, smiling as Minami hopped up to sit on the counter. "The puppies were born last night! They are super tiny, I think Yorkie and maybe Pomeranian. Want to help me take some pictures after work tomorrow?"

Minami's energy was always infectious. He was in charge of photography for the rescue group and did a remarkable job of bringing out each dog's personalities. Yuuri often found himself dragged into helping with photoshoots, supplying props and an extra set of hands. This was especially necessary with puppies. In addition to his photography skills, Minami had converted the entire lower floor of his townhouse to a doggy haven with separated rooms blocked by half doors where pregnant and new dog moms could comfortably rest with their litters. Six months prior Phichit and Yuuri had commissioned Yuuri's father to make a sign that read "Minami's Nursery," which now proudly hung on the wall of Minami's home.

Glancing down at Makkachin, Yuuri grinned while stroking her head. "What do you think, girl? Want to visit some puppies?" He received a happy bark as a response and laughed with the joy of it. Makkachin was responsive and loving and with each passing moment, Yuuri felt more heartbroken that she wouldn't be his. "I think that's a yes!" Yuuri put an uplifted syllable on the end of his statement, trying to mask his own flitting emotions.

"Sweet!" Minami jumped from the counter and kneeled to say goodbye to Makkachin. "Head over after you close up!" Slapping an unneeded high five against Yuuri's hand which had been waving to Yurio, Minami spun away toward the front door.

As the other members of the rescue finally vacated the shop, Phichit waved to them as well before locking the door behind him. Turning on Yuuri, a sly smile planted over his face, Phichit winked, "so what are you wearing tonight?"

Looking down at his phone, Yuuri smiled at the texts coming in rapid fire from Victor. Apparently Makkachin's daddy-to-be was finally home from the grocery store and letting him know they could come at any time. Pushing his phone toward Phichit, Yuuri watched as his best friend read the messages. "Um, I guess… this?" Yuuri looked down at his rolled jeans and t-shirt, which were covered with an alarming amount of brown fur. Somehow he didn't think Victor would mind.

"He's really into you," Phichit commented, thumb sweeping over Yuuri's phone, "how did you get any work done with all of these messages flying back and forth?" Grinning, Phichit laid Yuuri's phone on the counter, scowl immediately replacing the smile. "You bum! You are not wearing that!" Grabbing Yuuri by the shoulders, Phichit shoved his best friend toward the staircase which led to the loft apartment.

Makkachin ran in circles around them as Phichit man-handled Yuuri through the store. "Wait! Wait! P!" Yuuri flailed backwards, knocking Phichit from his back and onto the floor. A leg hooked behind Yuuri's knee, bringing him down onto the tile next to Phichit. Joining the game, Makkachin threw herself over both bodies. Yuuri had spent more time on the floor of his own shop in the last few hours than he ever had before. "I need to trim Makkachin's bangs," Yuuri stuttered between laughs, latching his arms around the furry brown body wiggling over him.

"Only trim one eye," Phichit stood, attempting to sound serious through his twitching smile, "she can match your new boyfriend." Yuuri kicked Phichit's legs out from under him, sending his best friend sprawling back on the floor.

* * *

It had taken Yuuri fifteen minutes to clip Makkachin's curls from around her face, revealing bright and curious eyes which looked ready to explore the world. It had taken another thirty for Phichit to dress and redress Yuuri before finally approving his dinner outfit, which only revealed the level of Yuuri's nerves. Stalling for time, and trying to breathe through the nervousness, Yuuri allowed Phichit to pose him and Makkachin in front of the store for a picture.

His favorite jeans hung softly against his legs, and a light blue sweater was a comforting presence against his skin. A matching light blue bow was clipped on Makkachin's leash, and Yuuri's cheeks still blazed with Phichit's comments about matching Victor's eyes. Maybe that thought had breached the conscious part of Yuuri's mind, but he was not going to tell Phichit that.

"Yuuri," Phichit nudged him, tipping his phone to show Yuuri the rescue's Instagram account. "Victor already commented on the picture of you!" Firmly pressing the phone into Yuuri's hand, Phichit waggled his eyebrows as Yuuri read Victor's comment.

"Hashtag so cute," Yuuri read, blushing a deep red, "hashtag my new family?!" Yuuri squawked, eyes going wide to stare at Phichit.

"Well, he is adopting Makka, right?" A twitch at the corner of Phichit's lips made Yuuri stop.

Of course Victor was talking about Makkachin. He was not, in fact, talking about Makkachin _and_ Yuuri. Because Makkachin was going to be Victor's dog. She wasn't going to belong to Yuuri and Yuuri wasn't a part of that family.

His jump to a very romantic and domestic conclusion was now embarrassingly dangling between him and Phichit. Refocusing on the ground, Yuuri felt the heat on this face and suppressed his need to groan. How Phichit was refraining from teasing him, Yuuri would never know.

Until Phichit burst into happy laughter, slapping a hand to Yuuri's shoulder. "Come on, you two are adorable already," Phichit shook his head, wiping a hand across his face. Kneeling down, Phichit fluffed the fur on Makkachin's cheeks. "What are we going to do about your daddies, huh girl? Are you going to help them fall in love tonight?" Makkachin barked, tail going wild as she assaulted Phichit's faces with kisses. "Makkachin ships it." Phichit laughed, giving the excited mass of brown fur a final hug.

Yuuri was trying to quiet the butterflies in his stomach, but the more he looked at Victor's hashtags and the little blue hearts that followed them, the more the butterflies took flight. It was as if he had swallowed an entire conga line of the winged bugs and they were determined to dance their way back out. Swallowing hard, Yuuri passed Phichit's phone back to him as Phichit stood.

"You are going to be fine," Phichit patted Yuuri's shoulder gain, "you look great, Makka is the epitome of cuteness and Victor is obviously excited. Go have a good time, you deserve it!"

"Thanks, Phichit," Yuuri shrugged, unable to really tell Phichit how much he appreciated the encouragement due to the butterfly wings beating against his throat. "I will talk to you tomorrow!" Yuuri said, watching Phichit hop from the curb to yank open the driver's side door of the rescue van. With a wink and a wave of his hand, Phichit disappeared inside and backed out to pull away. Glancing down at Makkachin, Yuuri smiled at her goofy doggy grin. "Ready to see your new home?" He ran a hand over her head before gently tugging the leash and setting off down the sidewalk.

The address that Victor had scribbled on an order form for a personalized collar had been plugged into Yuuri's phone for almost two hours. He had nervously reviewed the directions every time he opened his phone and had memorized the walk to Victor's house before the store had even closed. The path was familiar, and Yuuri realized as he made the second right, where is was leading. The small neighborhood, which he jogged through on mornings he felt motivated, was a block over the hill in the road.

He wasn't going to win an Olympic medal in track, but light jogs had to be an effective method in clearing his mind. On the mornings he was motivated, it was this exact little neighborhood that he chose to run through. It was eclectic, unique and full of wonderful homeowners. Not that any of it helped with his physique, Yuuri frowned, poking his own squishy belly as he walked.

His traitor mind immediately skipped two steps to land at the mental image of Victor's long lean body stretching up to pull down leashes from the highest hook. Yuuri had no idea what the man did for a living, but the flex of defined shoulder muscles and the flash of toned abs under the raise of Victor's shirt had caused Yuuri's heart to stutter. It wasn't enough that Victor had those stunning blue eyes and the unique hue of silver hair, he was also built like a marble statute and somehow that seemed ridiculously unfair. It was _especially_ unfair compared to Yuuri's round cheeks and perpetually soft belly.

But Victor hadn't seemed off-put by Yuuri's physical appearance. Even in his constant state of emotional density, Yuuri couldn't even deny the eagerness at which Victor had touched his arm or grabbed his hand. There was definitely no denying the moment when Victor had wrapped a strong arm around Yuuri's waist. For a second, and only a second, Yuuri had thought Victor was going to kiss him. The thought would have scared Yuuri, but for some reason he couldn't stop thinking about how Victor's eyes sparkled, the feeling of Victor's pressing hand on his back, and the graze of fingertips across his cheek.

The fire returned to Yuuri's cheeks as he feet tangled with Makkachin's drooping leash. Stumbling forward, he threw an arm out to steady himself on a mailbox. Chuckling at his own clumsiness he looked down at Makkachin who was licking his fingers. "Your daddy is gorgeous, you know that?" Setting back on course, he continued to talk to Makkachin to calm himself. "I bet he has a beautiful house, with lots of comfy rugs to lay on and a big backyard with lots of room to run." The neighborhood was familiar as Yuuri rounded the corner. Each door was painted a different color and most of the houses had been owned by generations of families. House numbers were sporadic and each front yard looked like a Picasso painting, vivid in color and random in decorative placement. "Look at your neighborhood, Makka! This is my favorite neighborhood in this whole town. You are a lucky girl to live somewhere so beautiful!" He kept the commentary going since it seemed to be calming his nerves.

"There is Ms. Smalls," Yuuri waved a hand at the small woman rocking on a porch swing with an ancient cocker spaniel laying over her lap. "Her dog is named Sassy and Sassy was one of the first dog's Phichit ever rescued." The memory made Yuuri smile, his best friend crying in the arms of Ms. Smalls, both celebrating the adoption of puppy Sassy. They still came in to visit Yuuri at the store when the pair was up to walking. When they weren't, Yuuri delivered food and supplies for both of them directly to the house with a bright orange door.

"Oh Makka, look!" Yuuri pointed to a small wooden face, with a tiny nose poking through the rails. "That's Rocky! He is playful, but young, so you will have to be very patient with him, ok?" He paused, letting Makkachin sniff at Rocky the bulldog's stout nose. The laughter was instantaneous when Makkachin licked a stripe up the front of Rocky's face. As they continued their walk, a stunned Rocky continued to stare at them from the safety of the space in front of his red door.

"Don't tell your daddy, but here's my favorite door," Yuuri said, pulling his phone from his pocket with the intention of checking his GPS. He had stopped paying attention to the few labeled house numbers and needed to reorient himself before he knocked on the wrong door. "Isn't that a pretty blue? I love that color. I wish I lived there, it always looks like there is nobody home and that house deserves someone who wants to be home."

"Yuuri!"

The sound of his name being called had Yuuri raising his head to glance around in panic. When it was called again, his heart stopped. _There was no way_ , he whispered internally, eyes finally settling on the cheerful waving form of Victor, standing on the steps in front of Yuuri's favorite blue door.

Victor had been watching out of his window, daydreaming of Yuuri and Makkachin skipping down the street and mapping out their entire future. First was dinner, which Victor had prepared in three courses, and then the rest of their lives. It was that simple as far as Victor was concerned. Fate had brought him to Katsuki's Pet Needs and there was no way he would be convinced otherwise.

His heart had flipped over in his chest the moment Yuuri and Makkachin had appeared in his line of vision, walking coincidentally in time to the lyrics of Marry You singing from Victor's phone. It appeared that Yuuri was talking, and the thought that it was to Makkachin made Victor swoon all over again. There had never existed a more irresistible set of beings on the planet and Victor was determined to be the person that completed the triangle.

Throughout his shopping and cooking, Victor had let his imagination run wild, picturing family dates to the Dog Park and vacations to the nearby beach. When Victor traveled, he would return home to the welcoming arms of Yuuri and the sloppy kisses of Makkachin. By the time Victor had impatiently thrown open his front door, Yuuri and him had been married for five years and had adopted seven more dogs.

It wasn't until Victor saw the shy smile, paired with the pink cheeks and pale blue sweater that it hit him how much he _really_ wanted all of those things. He had never considered a real partner, or even a dog, as a necessity. In the course of one afternoon, however, he had erased all his prior misconceptions about the perks of solitude. Now, he wanted it all, every ounce of domesticity and love. And he wanted it with the quiet, caring spirit of Yuuri Katsuki.

"Hi!" Yuuri breathed, barely able to hold his hands still as the nerves danced under his skin. Victor was standing on the doorstep of the house Yuuri had been envisioning owning since he was a small child and it was doing reckless things to Yuuri's heart.

"I'm so happy you are here!" Victor threw his arms around Yuuri in a hug, sighing in relief when Yuuri hugged him back. It was going to be harder than Victor had anticipated to reign in all the fantasies he had concocted over the past few hours. Releasing Yuuri, Victor continued to stand in close proximity, smiling until his cheeks ached. When a bump against his knee registered, Victor turned his smile in Makkachin's direction, quickly dropping to his knees to hug her. "Oh, Makkachin, I am happy you are here too! I hope you will like your new home!"

Something smelled delicious and Yuuri jumped when his stomach growled. Slapping an embarrassed hand over his face, Yuuri blushed into his own palm while wondering if his face would eventually catch fire and be done with it. "Sorry!" he continued to bury his head in his hand when he felt fingers wrap around his wrist. Relinquishing the hold on his own face, Yuuri peered up at Victor from under his bangs. "I don't usually get to eat during the day on Sunday so…" he trailed off, words failing to help him escape the embarrassment.

Victor was screaming internally. Did anyone blush as much as Yuuri did? It was unfair how insanely sweet those pink cheeks were, Victor wanted to kiss them to see if they would grow even redder. Without letting himself think about it, Victor laced his fingers with Yuuri's and tugged him through the doorway. "I'm sorry, I am a bad host! Dinner is this way and then we'll go for a tour!" Dropping Yuuri's hand briefly, Victor closed the door and leaned down to unclip Makkachin's leash. "Makkachin, you get dinner too! Do you like steak, my baby?"

His heart was not going to make it and Yuuri was convinced he was going to collapse out of overdose of cuteness. "You made her steak?" It was ridiculous, but Yuuri couldn't help smiling. "You know, she can't eat like that all the time, it will make her fat." He winced, resisting the urge to glance at his own stomach.

Kneeling, Victor pushed his face into Makkachin's neck. "Chubby means more to cuddle," Victor pulled back, deliberately flicking his smile in Yuuri's direction. In the black t-shirt he wore for work, Yuuri had looked slightly slimmer than he did in the fitted blue sweater. Victor found that he was already desiring to lay his head against the slight poke of a tummy and had to distract himself with Makkachin to keep from staring. "I'm going to love you no matter what, Makka Girl, and I will only feed you steak twice a week if that will make your other daddy happy."

It had slipped. In all of Victor's daydreaming Yuuri had been Makkachin's other daddy and briefly those daydreams had blurred with reality. It was his turn to blush, refusing to look at Yuuri as his embarrassment seeped over him.

There were two choices fluttering in Yuuri's mind. Ignore what he heard or go along with it. His brain screamed at him to ignore it, but his mouth was a traitor. "Her other daddy thinks steak should be for special occasions." It was out before he could stop it and Yuuri stared at Victor, also unable to peel his treacherous eyes away. His stupid body was acting without his control.

If Victor had brain functioning, it wasn't registering. Slowly pulling himself from the ground, Victor searched for words to erase some of the rapidly growing awkwardness. Hands fluttering together, he glanced around. He was somewhere between wanting to throw himself into Yuuri's arms and wanting to throw himself down a flight of stairs. Words tumbling, Victor threw out, "so… food dinner?" Freezing, Victor replayed the last sentence in his head.

The dam of awkwardness broke in a flood of laughter. Yuuri shook with it, knowing that the hilarity was multiplied by their mixed bags of embarrassment. Wheezing slightly, Yuuri pushed his hands under his glasses to wipe at his eyes. "What… exactly…" Yuuri giggled again trying to gather his words, "is _food dinner_?" He let the laughter shake his body again as Victor leaned against the wall.

"It's eatable!" Victor hiccupped between giggles. When Yuuri started laughing harder, Victor's eyes went wide again. "Edible! I meant edible!" It was hopeless. He was almost positive eatable was a word, but he wasn't going to argue that point. Instead he shoved up from the wall, tucking his hand back into Yuuri's and pulling him from the foyer of the house. "Oh, just let me feed you already!"

His stomach hurt from laughing as Yuuri stepped further into Victor's house, briefly distracted from the sparking sensation where Victor's fingers were squeezing against his own. The awkwardness had passed into insanity, and Yuuri found that despite the slight emotional whiplash, he had enjoyed the ride. Something about Victor's presence made him feel alive, and he was dangerously tipping towards a need for that feeling. Letting himself be dragged through the simple living room, Yuuri felt another layer of shock go through his system as he was stopped in front of a decorated dining room table.

In his determination to make the night special, Victor might have gone slightly overboard. An observation that didn't strike him until Yuuri's little gasp. Trying to see the table through Yuuri's eyes, Victor noted the poodle napkins (which had been a lucky find and _definitely not_ something he had gone to three stores to find), the covered main dishes, the crystal salad bowl and the chocolate cake decorated with a strawberry heart. There was the bottle of wine chilling in a silver bucket, and blue crystal wine glasses. At the foot of the table, arranged to fit between the two catty-cornered place settings, stood Makkachin's new food dishes, with a sizeable pile of tiny bites of steak and plain baked potato. Victor had moved the chairs slightly to make room for her, but not enough that he couldn't reach out and touch Yuuri if he wanted to. Taking in the sight all at once, it was a little…. _extra_. Apology ready to fall from his lips, Victor twisted to find Yuuri blushing again.

"All of this is for us?" It was a lot to take in, the details quickly trying to burn a place in Yuuri's brain so he could brag to Phichit later. There were first dates, which Yuuri was almost positive this was supposed to be, and then there was the carefully set dining room table hinting of an intimate dinner for three. Swallowing again, he let himself look at Victor. The smile he found on Victor's face was blinding in its brilliance.

"Yes?" Victor said, a little hesitant even as his heart did jumping jacks in his chest and urged him to lean toward Yuuri. _A little closer_ , his deviant mind pushed, trying to fulfill the desire of his cowardly lips. A crashing sound had him jumping back, springing to peer around the table.

Heart thudding in his chest, Yuuri leaned to peer at a very happy Makkachin who had finally joined them after her inspection of the living room. She had happily attacked her dinner, pausing only for a second to throw a goofy dog grin in their direction. "I think she likes it," Yuuri couldn't help the smile that wouldn't leave his face. Makkachin looked at home in Victor's house, and even though there was a bittersweet edge to the thought, Yuuri couldn't help being truly happy for her.

"Time to eat for us humans too," Victor took a chance wrapping an arm around Yuuri's waist and guiding him to sit in a chair. "I hope you like it!" Lifting the dish covers with a flourish, Victor slipped them onto the counter before taking his own seat. As he settled into his food, he couldn't help feeling a lingering sense of perfection.

* * *

"Then!" Yuuri howled through his laughter, leaning on the coffee table trying to breathe and finish his story, "Minami looks up, covered in all this goop and goes says _no one told me puppies are born wrapped in Jell-O_!" He was barely able to get the last word out, his entire body constricting with his laughter. The story of Minami's first set of delivered puppies was still one of the best that Yuuri had experienced with the rescue. Next to him on the floor, Victor was doubled over with laughter, gripping Makkachin as he rolled around in his own amusement.

The empty bottle of wine was perched in the middle of the coffee table, along with the half-eaten chocolate cake. They had retired from the kitchen after Yuuri had helped Victor with the dishes and had taken their forks straight to the cake, jokingly feeding each other bites as the wine vanished down their throats. The sofa was comfortable against their backs and their thighs were pressed tightly together as they shared stories, Yuuri about the rescue and Victor about his travels. Yuuri had never considered software sales an entertaining line of work until he had spent thirty minutes listening to all of Victor's horror stories.

Sitting up, Victor let his chuckles dissipate throwing an arm casually across the couch, inches from Yuuri's shoulders. "Oh, but how sweet those little babies must be! I have never seen puppies that small."

Wiggling backwards, Yuuri let his head fall back. Barely catching himself from jumping, Yuuri realized he had rested his head directly on Victor's arm. Calming himself, Yuuri turned his head to look at Victor. "If you want…" he trailed off, courage failing him only briefly, "I am helping Minami take pictures of puppies tomorrow. You could go with me and Makkachin." Studying Victor's face, Yuuri couldn't stop himself from pressing on. "It will be after the store closes, and after your home inspection, so we could have dinner or something afterwards and you could see Makkachin."

The babbling Yuuri was doing only caused Victor to focus on the rapidly moving lips more than he already was. For a third time that day, Victor found himself leaning forward. This time there were no distractions, no audience, and Makkachin seemed content to stay out of the way. A breath away from Yuuri's lips, Victor hesitated. Blue eyes searching brown ones, he asked, "is this okay?"

Without a word, Yuuri slid a hand into that back of Victor's hair and pulled him to close the distance. The reaction was natural, the warm press of two sets of lips, the tightening of individual grips on the other's bodies. Everything else was new. The breathless feeling of Victor scooting closer to press their bodies together. The taste of strawberries, chocolate and sweet wine on Victor's tongue as it moved against Yuuri's own. Even with the amazingly easy rhythm they found together, it wasn't the physical feeling that was making Yuuri feel dizzy. A wave, steadily building and violently crashing, swept his heart away, leaving him with only the feeling of belonging. Kissing Victor felt like finally finding the missing part of Yuuri's soul.

Victor felt his heart burst at the first graze of lips, and with every second the kiss continued he could feel himself falling into Yuuri. A piece of his heart, quite possibly the whole thing, was leaving Victor's body, a gift for the beautiful man who had lit up his world in only a day. It wasn't fireworks and parades, but more a spark of hope, a brilliant gleam of love, and the potential for forever that had Victor sighing into the kiss. Getting lost in Yuuri was far too easy though, and Victor forced himself to slow down before he took steps that he would regret. Breaking the kiss, to lean their foreheads together, Victor whispered, "Yuuri…" There were so many words he wanted to say, but he was drowning in the rich pools of Yuuri's eyes and losing track of all of them.

"I like you," Yuuri blurted, realizing how stupid it sounded considering he had spent the past ten minutes making out with the recipient of this declaration. He saw the light flicker in Victor's eyes and decided that it didn't matter if the statement was stupid, he wanted to see that happiness again. "I like you and I want to…" Words were gone, clamped down by insecurity and Yuuri stared at Victor with pleading eyes.

"I like you," Victor ran a finger over Yuuri's cheek. "And I want to see more of you. Every day, all the days, for as long as you'll have me." It was bold, but Victor wasn't known for subtleties and he wasn't going to hold back when the scale was teetering between happiness and loneliness.

"All days," Yuuri whispered, smile returning as he sat up and leaned back into Victor, "I'll take all the days." This time, Yuuri kissed Victor on the nose. It was a silly gesture, but one he had seen his father do to his mother and it was an urge he couldn't resist.

 _He kissed my nose_ , Victor restrained himself from touching his nose as his heart swelled again. Leaning down, he felt Yuuri giggle against his lips as they found their way to each other again. It would be easy to kiss Yuuri forever, but Victor knew that forever was built on more than physical chemistry. This thought had him breaking the kiss again, wrapping his arms around Yuuri's body to hug him close. "I can't wait," Victor whispered into Yuuri's neck, running his nose over the soft skin under Yuuri's ear. "But I can _wait_." Pulling back, Victor noted the calm understanding on Yuuri's smiling face.

"I guess…" Yuuri wasn't disappointed. He was relieved. There was a part of him that would have let himself get wrapped into Victor on the first night, but more of him wanted the possibility of something so much more. Their first meeting, their first date, and their first kiss were all ticks on an hour marker of day one. All of the other firsts could wait for another day. Smiling at the promise of the future, Yuuri let himself be dragged from the floor by Victor's helpful hand.

Together they walked to the front door, arms draped around each other, and Makkachin bumping against Victor's legs. Dropping to the floor, Victor let Makkachin cover his face with her own kisses. "I will see you tomorrow, my sweet baby!" Victor hugged her close and planted loud kisses of his own on her fluffy head. "Take care of your other daddy tonight, ok?" There was a hint of disappointment, and Victor knew his home would feel empty once they left, but this was the right way to do things. Pushing from the floor, Victor reached for Yuuri again, determined to ease the growing ache in his heart. They hadn't even walked out of the front door and Victor was already missing them.

Yuuri saw the glint of sadness pass through Victor's eyes and attempted to remedy it by playfully teasing him. Pretending to duck away, Yuuri made a silly scrunched face in Victor's direction, "you think I am going to kiss you after you let Makkachin clean your face?" His giggles erupted when Victor partially tackled him against the door. "Dog slobber is all over your face…" Yuuri whispered, with an exaggerated amount of fear.

With a smirk, Victor dropped his face and rubbed it over the fabric of Yuuri's sweater, "ok well I will clean it off then." He could feel the laughter vibrating in Yuuri's chest and it made his own impossible to contain. There was more happiness in Victor's house than there had ever been, and his entire body felt alive with it. Tipping his face back up Victor tilted his head back and forth, "better?" he inquired raising an eyebrow at Yuuri.

"Now there is fuzz," Yuuri chortled, reaching up to pluck a blue fuzz ball from Victor's cheek. His fingers lingered against the soft skin shaped by the chiseled cheek bone. Eyes returning to Victor's, Yuuri smiled again as Victor brought their lips together.

It was possible that Victor could spend an eternity attached to Yuuri's lips, but Makkachin whined at his feet breaking his attention away from Yuuri. "Are you tired, baby girl?" Victor asked, running his hand through the brown fur. Straightening up, Victor released his hold on Yuuri and unlocked the front door. "Can I call you in the morning?" Suddenly feeling the weight of being left alone, Victor needed the reassurance that this was all real.

"You can call me or text me any time you want," Yuuri lifted Victor's hand to kiss his knuckles, "the store is open from ten to five tomorrow if you want to stop by, and if you want to meet me there at five, I can drive to Minami's." He was babbling again, but this time with purpose. As the smile returned to Victor's face, making it all the way to the brilliant blue eyes, Yuuri knew he had succeeded.

"Coffee?" Victor asked, chuckling again at his lack of words. "Do you drink coffee and can I bring you some?" He flipped Yuuri's hand in his own and returned the knuckle kisses.

"I love coffee," Yuuri smiled, reaching forward to kiss Victor's nose again. The cute reactive scrunch of Victor made Yuuri never want to stop. "I will see you in the morning?" He let the eagerness show, knowing that he needed Victor's reassurance as much as Victor seemingly needed his.

"Tomorrow morning," Victor sealed the plan with another kiss and a crushing hug. Stepping back, Victor let his guests move out of his front door. "Good night Yuuri! Good night Makkachin! Text me to let me you know got home safe!"

A lump caught in Yuuri's throat as he forced out, "will do! Good night, Victor! Thank you for everything!" Turning Yuuri headed down the sidewalk with Makkachin happily bouncing against his legs. "You know," he whispered thoughtfully to Makkachin, whose ears twitched, "my mom always told me to marry a man who made sure I got home safely." He let the words hang in the air, as his heart hummed with happiness of them.

Standing on his doorstep, Victor watched as his future family disappeared from sight, hanging onto his own renewed hope.


	3. Chapter 3

**The morning after their first date/kiss, Victor comes to the store to bring Yuuri coffee and a surprise :)**

 **The next chapter will contain the rest of Monday, so there will be Minami and his puppies, I promise! But with the fluff in this chapter, I simply couldn't keep heaping it on or we would all drown together lol.**

 **If this gets any fluffier, I am going to have to start making pillows...**

 **Send your dentist bills to me on Tumblr at n3rdlif343va! The amazing cover photo for this fic was created by TheFloralFox who also gifted me the idea for this story!  
**

* * *

If Sunday was Yuuri's favorite day at the shop, Monday was definitely the day he dreaded the most. There were never deliveries and the early hours dragged along without any real purpose. Once five o'clock hit, it was a struggle to keep a smile on his face as Yuuri tackled the grumpy grumblings of each wearied customer completing forgotten weekend errands at the end of their own dog-eared Mondays. By the time he closed and the locked the front doors, Yuuri would feel the tension setting into his shoulders making the muscles impossibly tight as he hauled himself upstairs to his apartment. It was the same week in and week out, and Yuuri had learned to brace himself for Mondays, like a prize fighter braced themselves for repeated beatings.

This Monday was different though.

Rolling over in his bed, Yuuri unplugged his phone and smiled at the first message on the screen. A good morning message from Victor, promising coffee and warm hugs within minutes of the shop opening. Grinning as he typed his reply, Yuuri hit send and let the phone drop, cuddling into the bed-hog of a poodle stretched out next to him.

As promised, Yuuri had text Victor when he reached his one bedroom apartment over the pet store. The returning texts had come in an avalanche, as if Victor had been barely restraining himself from contacting Yuuri during the short ten minute walk. They had exchanged messages deep into the night, only terminating the flowing strand when their phones began mutually screaming for recharge. Yuuri had fallen asleep with the words of Victor's last text floating in his mind and had found sleep to be filled with all sorts of embarrassing scenarios. If Phichit knew that Yuuri was dreaming of running through fields of flowers with Victor, Makkachin and an entire pack of puppies, he would never let Yuuri live it down.

It had been a nice dream though, one that ended with a soft kiss and a light rain. The rain had turned out to be Makkachin drooling on Yuuri's face, but he still wouldn't change a thing, even with the mild coat of dog slobber across his sleep-warmed face. Snuggling closer to Makkachin's fluff, Yuuri let his smile spread as the butterflies decided to spread their wings in his stomach. He never thought there would be anyone in his life to give him butterflies, and here he was harboring an entire army of happy winged bugs inside of his stomach. "Daddy is going to be here soon," Yuuri spoke into Makkachin's neck and laughed when she began to make talking sounds. He loved the way she expressed herself, not resorting solely to barks and whines, but using smaller noises that sounded like intentional communication.

Peeling himself away from his comfortable position, Yuuri stumbled across his apartment to seek the inside of his shower. The warm water caressed over his skin making his mind slowly crawl out of its sleepy state. It had been twenty-four hours since the ball of fluff currently sprawled on his bed had stolen his heart. It had been less than that since her future parent had claimed the rest of it. The realization made Yuuri's heart skitter in his chest.

There wasn't a lacking in his life prior to Sunday. He had amazing friends and his family was incredibly supportive. Phichit as a best friend was enough to entertain him for going on six years and Yuuri had hobbies and the store to keep him busy.

Still, there was a certain level of exhilaration that Yuuri had never felt. Every time he closed his eyes, it was Victor's warm smile that filled his mind and the feeling of those smiling lips against his own. As he had pulled his shirt over his head the night before, the mixture of Victor's cologne and the delicious dinner had floated into his nostrils. Washing over his shoulders, he remembered the feeling of Victor's arm resting against them and let his sigh fill the shower rising along with the steam. All of the feelings were new to him, and he loved every single one of them.

Then there was Makkachin. For the first time since he had lost Vicchan, Yuuri had a warm being cuddled next to him in his bed. She was a terrible bed-hog and an incessant cuddler and Yuuri had loved every minute of it. Letting her go, even to someone as wonderful as Victor, was going to be harder than Yuuri wanted to admit. There was hope there though, that maybe Victor would let Yuuri still be a big part of Makkachin's life. Remembering Victor's comments about Yuuri being Makka's other daddy had Yuuri blushing and shoving his face under the water.

He was finished in the shower in record time, towel drying his hair and moving from the bathroom to collect clothes. Knowing that Victor would be coming by had Yuuri foregoing the plain t-shirts and ratty jeans he normally wore, instead slipping a light blue Henley over his head and retrieving his newest pair of jeans. The outfit would still be comfortable to work in, but it was definitely a step up from Yuuri's normal attire. Giving himself a final nod of approval knowing Phichit would be proud of his effort, Yuuri called to Makkachin and lead the way down into the store to start his day.

* * *

There was a hurricane of clothes across his bedroom floor that Victor vaguely considered tossing onto the floor of his closet before giving up and rehanging all of the disregarded items. It had taken him more than twenty minutes to choose his clothing for the day, hoping to impress not only Yuuri but whoever the individual was who would perform his home visit. Jazzed from the night before, Victor had risen before sunrise and checked his home thoroughly for dust bunnies and stray clutter. It was an unnecessary effort, considering he had cleaned before Yuuri had arrived the night before, but Victor couldn't keep himself still. The excitement of seeing Yuuri again paired with the nerves regarding his home visit had Victor bouncing on his toes and out of his front door.

The sun was brighter, the birds were happier, and Victor found himself strolling down the sidewalk smiling at every neighbor he passed. His neighborhood was so colorful and bright, and he realized that he had never taken the time to fully appreciate the eclectic nature of it all. Every door was its own shade, every homeowner had their own style and almost every home had a dog. Barely containing a squeak of excitement, Victor realized he would soon be joining the ranks of pet owners. Makkachin was going to be the perfect companion, and he couldn't wait for the final decision on his fluffy future.

First though, there was coffee to be delivered to a very adorable shop owner.

Humming his way toward the small strip of businesses, Victor ducked into the first one waving at the friendly barista whose name he could never remember. He knew the man owned the place with his wife, a cute woman who seemed to adore her husband, and made the best coffee in town, but Victor could never retain his name, no matter how many times he was reminded. Placing his order, Victor rocked on his heels, still unable to hold still for longer than a few seconds.

The night had been perfect. Victor had imagined all the ways the date would go and the reality had blown all of his expectations out of the water. The kiss had been one that he would tell their grandchildren about and Yuuri's laughter still rang in his memory, making Victor grin down at his feet. He wanted a forever's worth of nights just like their first together.

Hearing his name called, he retrieved the two coffees in their cardboard holder, waving his thanks as he walked back onto the street. Only making it two doors, he stopped peering into the shop to his right. It was probably a cheesy idea, but Victor found himself pushing his way into the flower shop nonetheless.

Emil had been a client of Victor's since the first day the shop had opened its doors. Victor had overseen the entire construction of the flower shop's interface, and was in charge of the person assigned to maintain and secure the system. It had been a simple inventory and accounting system, but Victor had taken the time to set it up himself as an excuse to stay in his own home for longer than a fleeting night. Emil was an endearing man, known for his ridiculously dangerous free climbing hobby and a love for flowers that seemed contradictory in the same human. Victor liked the contrast though and the never-ending flow of enthusiasm that came with it.

"Vic! My man!" Emil called from his place at the cutting table, waving off his assistant and coming around the counter. He slapped his hand into Victor's, shaking it jovially before placing the same hand on his own hip. "What brings you by?"

The words felt stuck in Victor's throat as he shuffled his feet over the rubber mats covering the floors. He had never bought flowers for anyone other than his mother and he suddenly felt shy about what he wanted to do. Wincing, Victor peeked at Emil from under the drop of his bangs. "Um, well… there's this guy…"

"YES!" Emil yelled, smacking Victor on the shoulder. "Good for you, who is the lucky duck?"

The hesitation fell away as Victor processed the genuine interest on Emil's face. Without the embarrassment filter, Victor felt the damn break on all of his excitement. "Yuuri Katsuki! He owns Katsuki's Pet Needs and he is perfect. I want to shower him in flowers and kisses and hugs."

Victor's hands were waving wildly in the air, and Emil snagged the tray of coffees with a laugh. "I can help with the flowers, the rest you'll have to handle on your own." Winking at Victor, Emil slipped the coffees onto the counter and led the way around the store to create the perfect bouquet.

* * *

Yuuri hauled the last of the dog food bags to the front of the store, chuckling as Makkachin lumbered behind him. She tilted her head, considering his panting breaths and Yuuri threw up his hands. "I know, I know!" he said, wiping his forehead, "I'm an idiot for getting all sweaty before he gets here!" Lifting the corner of his apron, Yuuri slipped it under his glasses to wipe away the perspiration on his cheekbones and bridge of his nose. His morning shower was completely useless now and he felt stupid for deciding that lugging around giant bags of kibble was a good way to exercise his nerves.

Glancing at the clock again, Yuuri sighed. Victor was supposed to arrive almost fifteen minutes ago. With each passing minute, Yuuri became more anxiously convinced that somehow he had screwed everything up. Squatting down to pet Makkachin's ears, he worriedly bit at his lip and Makka whined at him. "I want to see him too…" Yuuri trailed off as the animal themed Canon in D started to play from the front door.

"Hello?" Peering around the shop, Victor was confused as to why it looked so empty. On the occasions that he had walked passed it and when he had finally ventured in the prior day, it had been full of life. Now it seemed to be missing any action at all, including the movements of his new favorite beings. Stepping further into the store, he heard the scrap of nails as Makkachin rounded a shelf, barreling toward him at full speed. "Baby girl!" Victor called, hastily setting the flowers and coffee onto the counter so he could catch Makkachin in both arms. Letting himself be bowled onto the floor, Victor laughed, wrapping his arms around Makkachin's neck and happily accepting kisses.

The breath caught in Yuuri's chest. At some point during the panicked fourteen minutes of Victor's lateness, Yuuri had tried to convince himself that Victor wasn't that good looking, and his smile definitely wasn't the source of earth's light. Watching the duo roll around on the floor of the pet shop, Yuuri realized how many lies he had told himself in the brief minutes of delusional. Stepping around the back of the counter, he tried to exhale when he spotted the flowers nestled against the tray of coffees.

Makkachin was the first to break the playful tussle of cuddles, heading off to bang against Yuuri's legs. Pushing from the floor, Victor tried to straighten his hair, peering sheepishly over at Yuuri. When the brown eyes lifted, the smile crinkling the corners, Victor felt his heart doing familiar somersaults. His entire chest ached and it was useless to try to resist rounding the counter to wrap his arms around Yuuri's waist. Leaning in, Victor squished a kiss to the side of Yuuri's face, making Yuuri giggle while squishing his cheek back against Victor's nose. "For you," Victor said, plucking the flower bouquet from the counter, one hand still wrapped around Yuuri. He rested his chin on Yuuri's shoulder as Yuuri inhaled the flowery scents. "Also, coffee," nodding toward the cups sitting on the counter.

"Thank you," Yuuri twisted at the waist with the intent to kiss Victor's cheek. Accidentally misjudging where Victor's face was, Yuuri found himself awkwardly kissing the side of Victor's mouth. "I… uh…" He blushed through to his hairline, smacking a hand over his face. Victor had been so cute and sweet, and Yuuri had gone from loving to awkward in two seconds flat.

The tingling on the corner of Victor's mouth caught him off-guard. He wasn't sure what Yuuri's intentions had been, but the thought of kissing Yuuri properly was back at the front of his mind and there was no dissuading him now. Hooking a finger under Yuuri's dropped chin, Victor lifted Yuuri's face to his own. "Good morning, Yuuri," Victor whispered, pressing their lips together, willing himself to keep it PG while standing in the middle of Yuuri's place of business.

Yuuri was melting. All of the feelings that he had tried to tell himself were his mind blowing things out of proportion came rushing back as Victor gently moved his lips against Yuuri's. It was exciting, but also comforting, like childhood Christmas mornings in his favorite pajamas in front of his family's fire place. His hands moved on their own motivations, tracing patterns over Victor's cheek and wrist. For a moment, Yuuri forgot his was supposed to be working and lost himself in the feeling of Victor.

If given the chance, Victor would have stayed right there, slowly kissing Yuuri until the entire world faded away. Makkachin had other ideas. Noticing another dog walking passed the glass front windows, she began to bark happily racing to the window to plant her wet nose against the glass. It made them both jump, breaking apart to exchange goofy smiles. Victor noted the pink on Yuuri's cheeks and the wide brown eyes, and let his heart slip a little further from his body. "That was a better way to wake up than coffee," Victor teased, experimentally pecking a kiss to Yuuri's nose. He had thought about Yuuri's nose kiss for most of the night, and had the irrepressible urge to try it himself. It felt silly and intimate all at the same time and Victor felt his smile grow even wider.

"Mmmm… coffee…" Yuuri teased, leaning away to grab at his cup. Victor's kiss to his lips had sparked all of the neurons in Yuuri's brain into action, but the brief nose kiss had wrung his heart like a wet sponge. He needed to do something to distract himself, otherwise he would have locked the front doors, dragged Victor upstairs and spent the rest of the day indulging in every type of kiss he could think of. Lifting the coffee cup to his lips and spinning to face Victor, Yuuri was acutely aware of still being tangled in Victor's arms, his body tingling everywhere they were touching. With a shaky breath, he took the first sip sighing with caffeinated happiness. "JJ's coffee really is the best." Yuuri said cheerfully as he took another sip.

"JJ!" Victor said, slapping his forehead lightly with his palm before reaching behind Yuuri for his own cup. "I always forget that guy's name." He spotted the look on Yuuri's face and raised a single eyebrow as he sipped his coffee. "What?"

Spinning the cup in his hand, Yuuri lifted it up to Victor's eye level. "The name is on the cup… JJ named his coffee place JJ's." He bit his bottom lip to keep himself from giggling at Victor's adorably exasperated face.

"JJ's Coffee, Katsuki's Pet Needs…" drinking carefully from his cup of hot liquid, Victor smirked at Yuuri, "not known for your creative names around here, huh?" He sputtered on the lip of the cup when Yuuri poked him in the side giving him a mock pout. "At least Emil is unique." Lifting the flowers again from where Yuuri had dropped them during their kissing interlude, Victor placed them back in Yuuri's arms. "Courtesy of The Floral Fox."

"Ok, I can't argue that," Yuuri shrugged, placing his cup on the counter to properly examine his flowers. He had never received flowers from anyone and while part of him thought it was a little odd, the much bigger part of him wanted to immediately brag to Phichit. "Thank you, Victor," Yuuri felt the blush burn over his cheeks again and he cursed himself for his continuous face fires. "These are beautiful."

"You're beautiful," Victor blurted out, eyes widening at his forward statement. As the red deepened on Yuuri's cheeks accompanied with the twitch of a shy smile, Victor decided he would embarrass himself in the most public forum if Yuuri reacted this way every time. "I mean it, Yuuri." He lifted his fingers to brush away the bangs from Yuuri's forehead, leaning forward to kiss the exposed skin. Victor was intent on kissing his way back to Yuuri's lips when his phone made an obnoxiously loud ping from his pocket. Pulling back with barely disguised disappointment, Victor kept one hand tapping on Yuuri's hip as he pulled his phone from his pocket.

"Work?" Yuuri asked. He leaned back against the counter, continuing to look over the white flowers wrapped in brown paper. As the owner of the store, Yuuri reasoned that he should be more concerned about the lack of customers, but having more time alone with Victor seemed like a more than fair trade off.

"Nah uh," brow furrowed Victor continued to scroll through the email on his phone. "Phichit? Is that his name with the rescue? He emailed me about my home visit today." There were several paragraphs of details and a fair amount of exclamation points. Victor scanned over the information looking for a name of the person who would be his last hurdle in the adoption of Makkachin. "Oh… it says someone named Chris will be there at three today." Kneeling again, Victor whistled Makkachin over to him and used both hands to flap Makka's ears up and down. "Let's hope he likes what he sees so you can officially come live with me!"

Yuuri was staring at the ground in horror. He was absolutely going to murder Phichit. Chris was the most personable member of the rescue, outside of Phichit himself, and there were several confirmed stories about Chris dating adopters. The blond curls, deep accented voice, and finely tuned body made Chris hard to resist for men and women alike. If Victor spent even thirty seconds alone with Chris, he would realize how plain Yuuri was in comparison. Working himself into the solid start of a panic, Yuuri's vision blurred out as he continued to stare at the floor tiles.

The pinch of Yuuri's brow made Victor jump to his feet. "Yuuri, hey, you can see Makka any time you want, you know that?" Squeezing Yuuri's elbows with his hands Victor shook him slightly until Yuuri looked up at him. "And I can bring her to the store and if I have to go back to traveling maybe she could stay with you and it's not like you won't be around all the time as my boyfriend and everything-"

"What?!" squawked Yuuri coming completely out of his daze with crashing force of Victor's words. He heard the word, he knew he heard the word, but in the middle of his ridiculous spiral he wasn't one hundred percent positive that he hadn't invented it in his mind.

Victor took his turn to flush bright red. "I mean… you know… because dating? So like… boyfriends?" What was it about Yuuri that destroyed Victor's ability for coherent sentences without a moment's notice? Begging his mouth and brain to work together, Victor tried again. "Not trying to rush things," he put both hands in the air, emphasizing his point by not touching Yuuri in the moment, "but I'm not dating anyone else and I want to date you. Just you. If that works for you?" Somewhere in the back of his mind, Victor recalled being called smooth by his colleagues. Apparently that part of his persona only existed when Yuuri Katsuki wasn't within an arm's length of him.

"Yeah," Yuuri nodded slowly trying to wrap his head around how he had gone from being convinced Victor would fall victim to Chris's charms to Victor's boyfriend in the span of one minute. He liked the idea though, so he didn't fight it. Reaching out he linked his fingers with Victor's and smiled with a mixture of happiness and relief. "So… are you ready for your home visit?" Even in his present state of euphoria, Yuuri wanted to move on from the subject of their relationship status in case further discussion changed Victor's mind.

"Well," moving to lean next to Yuuri on the counter, Victor squeezed Yuuri's hand, "I cleaned a lot last night because I wanted to impress you." He winced at his own overshare. At least Yuuri seemed to like him for the ridiculous dork who he was. "You saw it, you think I'll get approved?"

A hint of worry trickled into Victor's voice and Yuuri found himself eager to reassure his boyfriend. **_BOYFRIEND_** his brain screamed, followed by a chorus of babbled screeching. He momentarily tried to convince himself it was too fast, but he didn't want to. He wanted to be Victor's boyfriend and there was no good reason to deny himself the happiness of it. Experimentally resting his head on Victor's shoulder, Yuuri tried to provide reassurance. "Chris is nice," biting his own tongue, Yuuri idly ran a thumb over Victor's hand, "he'll get there on time and thoroughly examine you." His mind went blank as he registered what he had said. "Your house... he will thoroughly examine your house!" Yuuri scrunched his face as Victor chuckled.

"He can look at my house all he wants, but there is only one person I want to thoroughly examine me." The line had sounded great in his head, but out loud it was peak creepy. Looking anywhere but at Yuuri, Victor tried to pretend he wasn't the world's worst flirter.

"I…" he wasn't sure there was a response, "I've got nothing." Yuuri burst out laughing, covering his face with both of his hands. "Food dinner," he snorted from beneath his fingers.

"Oh for the love of Pete!" Victor tossed his hands in the air, finally joining in Yuuri's laughter. "Is that going to be a thing now? Like a running joke?" He was trying to sound huffy but it was impossible with Yuuri's adorable giggle filling the space around them.

"Who's Pete?" Yuuri questioned, struggling to get the words out. For whatever reason, every time Victor made a verbal misstep it sent Yuuri into a tailspin of hysteria. If he continued to laugh like this, he would never need to do another sit up again.

"My secret lover," Victor pouted, crossing his arms over his chest in mock upset, "I was just kidding about the boyfriends thing, _Pete_ doesn't laugh at me."

Yuuri slumped against the counter. It wasn't even that funny, but he felt elated and giddy and the emotions were pouring out of him through laughter. "You're the best, you know that?" Wiping a tear from his eye, he startled when Victor shifted directly in front of him. "I haven't laughed this hard in a long time." The sentence trailed off as Victor laid his forehead against Yuuri's.

"I promise to keep making you laugh," his eyes were closed, feeling Yuuri's hands flit down to the sides of Victor's waist. "But I have to go make sure everything is one hundred percent okay at the house and pretend like I work for a living. Wish me luck?" Pulling back slightly Victor smiled when Yuuri nodded his head. "Alright, one more kiss then I swear I'm leaving," leaning in again, Victor dotted light kisses to Yuuri's lips.

"I… think… you… are… up… to…ten…" Yuuri laughingly accepted a kiss between each word and then threw his arms around Victor's shoulders to hug him tight. "You'll do great, and then if you want to meet Minami's puppies, you could meet me here at six and we'll go together?" He held his breath, stupidly nervous that Victor might say no.

"I'll be here!" Victor cheered, giving Yuuri another squeeze before leaning to say his goodbyes to Makkachin. "Then can I buy you dinner?" Makkachin barked and Victor bent lower to kiss her head. "You two, my girl. I have been researching doggy friendly restaurants."

A little sound escaped Yuuri as his heart officially became the property of Victor Nikiforov. "Dinner would be good," he forced out, feeling his chest constricting with overwhelming emotion.

Standing Victor leaned forward to kiss Yuuri's temple. "I'll see you at six then!" He forced himself to walk toward the front of the store, turning back one more time to wave at Yuuri and then pushing open the door to head home.

Not a single customer entered the store until two o'clock that afternoon, and Yuuri was still convinced it was the best Monday he had ever had.


	4. Chapter 4

The blank email page stared at Victor, an accusatory block of white that mocked his inability to work. Normally, Victor had a level of efficiency that left his colleagues baffled and his bosses elated, but today, he couldn't even string together simple sentences. He had forgotten attachments on three emails, accidentally advised one of his employees to disconnect a server in error, and spent twenty minutes talking in circles with a business owner who only needed to know a simple reset code. His mind could not focus on the work in front of him, as it was still bouncing around in his daydream of life with Yuuri and Makkachin.

Practicality had always been a staple in Victor's life. Everything had a place, and every minute had a purpose. Routine, schedules, and a constantly updating Google calendar were the guides by which he made every decision. It was this orderly thinking that had gotten him to the top of his own team and lead to the promotions that had placed him there. He was the most popular technician, the best seller, and the go-to representative for any client that seemed potentially difficult. Victor was a valuable asset to his company, and he took pride in this fact, even when his job had faded from challenging to mundane.

The cursor continued to blink as Victor sighed, dropping back against the back of his desk chair. Technically, his backups were covering his emails for the day, but he hadn't been able to distract himself. He had cleaned every surface in his house twice and even mowed his grass, huffing in frustration when there were still two hours between the time he stepped into the shower and the time his home inspection would begin. Checking work emails had seemed like an appropriate distraction, until Victor had sat down to complete the task.

Rubbing his hands on his face, Victor forced himself to sit up and type the brief paragraph into the obnoxiously bright box. Hitting send, he refreshed his inbox and breathed a sigh of relief when nothing else popped up. Everything seemed to be calm with his accounts for the moment, and he slowly closed his laptop with a little click. Spinning around in his chair, Victor surveyed the first floor of his house trying to see it through a stranger's eyes.

Clutter didn't exist in Victor's world, as he was never home long enough to accumulate any. His large book shelves were lined with alphabetized books and each table on the sides of his couch held a simple gold lamp. A larger version of the lamps stood in the opposite corner, poised to illuminate Victor's favorite reading chair. Glancing back to the couch, Victor no longer saw a simple shape of navy blue. Instead, he smiled at the memory from the night before.

The merging of Victor's daydreams and his reality had felt seamless. Dinner with Yuuri had been unlike any dinner Victor had ever experienced. He had eaten countless business dinners over the years, but nothing compared to the free flow of easy conversation between himself and Yuuri. The only awkwardness had been playful, and Victor remembered each moment with a smiling bite to his lower lip. The giddiness hadn't subsided from the moment he had laid eyes on Yuuri and Makkachin, and Victor hoped that the feeling would stick around for a while.

A knock on the door had Victor furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. Flipping his wrist to check his watch, Victor blushed with the realization that he had daydreamed away a full thirty minutes. Yuuri Katsuki, even when he wasn't physically present, had a way of making time move unnaturally fast. Standing, Victor straightened his shirt and ran a hand through his hair as he made his way to the front door.

Swinging the door open, Victor planted his customer service smile on his face to greet the man standing on his front porch. Long lashes fluttered in Victor's direction as the other man's eyes swept over Victor's body in observation. Shifting his weight from one foot to the other, Victor stuck out his hand. "Um, hi, you must be Chris?" Noting the rescue logo on Chris's form-fitting polo shirt, Victor let his hand be firmly shaken for a few seconds.

"The one and only, gorgeous," Chris responded with a wink, dropping his hand and raising his clip board. Studying Victor, Chris raised an eyebrow. "Hm, Phichit was right! Lucky Yuuri!" Without clarifying his statement, Chris continued to smile at Victor as he stood on the front porch.

Victor opened his mouth to say something and immediately shut it. He didn't have the faintest idea as to what Phichit could have said, and he decided fairly quickly that he didn't want to know. He was happy that Chris thought Yuuri was lucky, and decided to concentrate on this thought. Stepping sideways, Victor held out an arm to welcome Chris inside, switching immediately into the persona he used to charm clients. Even if Chris was mildly flirty during the entire process, Victor could handle it. This was for Makkachin, and getting approved to bring Makkachin home was Victor's first priority. "Ah, well, I would say I am the lucky one in this situation," pausing to let Chris step into the foyer. Victor closed his front door and turned around. "Welcome to my home," Victor smiled, again waving an arm toward the hallway and the opening to the living room. "What would you like to see this first?"

Tilting his head, Chris smirked. "I think I have already seen the best part of this tour, but how about you show me where you intend for Makkachin to sleep. Especially if it is your bedroom." Raising an eyebrow, Chris's smile continued to look mischievous as Victor contemplated his next move.

Mimicking Chris's head tilt, Victor placed a single finger over his lips and tapped them thoughtfully. "Well, Makkachin will certainly be invited to snuggle in my bed should she want to, except when other things are going on." Victor winked at Chris, making him laugh. The genuine sound of it had the tension relaxing from Victor's shoulders.

"However, I do have a bed for her as well, if you'll follow me this way?" Noting Chris's small nod, Victor turned to lead the way into the living room, waving a hand toward the plush red bed resting below the picture window. "I bought this bed from Katsuki's Pet Needs and washed it this morning. It is supposed to provide excellent support." Reaching behind his reading chair, Victor pulled out a wicker basket filled with dog toys. "I also purchased all of these toys. My Makka liked this one the best," he pulled a cloth floppy fox from the top of the pile, smiling at the memory of Makkachin carrying the toy around the house the evening before.

Chris chuckled as he jotted notes on his paper. "My cat has a mouse by that same company. Loves that fuzzy little thing."

Placing the basket back in its place, Victor straightened to look at Chris again. He had learned in all of his years in sales to listen to the tone of his customers' voices. Chris's has softened at the mention of his cat, and Victor immediately pegged it as a way to reach a more sincere part of the man in front of him. The intentional flirting had been amusing at most, but a love of animals would be a real way to connect with Chris. "Cat? What's your cat's name?" The earnestness in Victor's question was all it took.

"Princess," Chris grinned, balancing his clipboard on the back of Victor's couch and producing his phone from his back pocket. "Do you want to see a picture? I adopted her from Phichit nearly a year ago and she's my baby." Moving around the coffee table, Chris stood shoulder to shoulder with Victor unlocking his phone. The background was a picture of Chris and his cat both wearing glittery crowns.

"Awww, she looks like she's smiling!" Victor leaned closer to the phone, uncaring that he had also dropped any semblance of the professional aloofness that he intended to use during this interview. The picture was ridiculously adorable and Victor couldn't help feeling excited when Chris opened his camera roll.

Another folder caught his eye, and Victor could tell Chris had noticed, the deep rumble of Chris's chuckle causing Victor to blush. Refusing to look up, Victor watched as Chris's thumb hovered over the folder in question, flicking at the last second to open the folder titled "my baby." There were one thousand six hundred and twenty seven pictures in the folder and Victor found himself wondering how big Chris's SD card was, knowing that he would probably collect the same amount of pictures of Makkachin within the first week. Nodding toward the couch, Victor took a seat and smiled when Chris plopped down next to him.

They spent thirty minutes going through Chris's pictures, Victor laughing as Chris told hilarious stories about all his blunders as a first time cat dad. He found himself nearly in laughing tears when Chris told the story of discovering Princess's fear of thunder and the nineteen stitches it took to repair the fierce gashes in his arms. Victor enjoyed Chris's company, feeling himself relax into the conversation and almost forgetting why Chris was there in the first place.

Victor loved the idea of becoming friends with Chris, and it made him wonder if everyone in Phichit's rescue was this likeable. He certainly liked Phichit and the energetic Minami was most likely just as much fun. He smiled as he settled back against his couch cushions, easily understanding why these were the people Yuuri spent time with.

"I can't wait until I have my own stories about Makkachin," Victor sighed, "if Princess likes dogs, maybe they can have a playdate!" Tilting his head at Chris's eyebrow raise, Victor waved a hand in the air, "assuming I am approved to adopt that is!"

Chris's laughter filled the room again, his head thrown back as he shook it. "This was always just a formality, Phichit has had you marked in the system as Makkachin's furdaddy since yesterday." Throwing his arm over the back of the couch, Chris turned to face Victor. "Besides, the email I got from Yuuri this morning would have been enough to qualify anyone, but I had to see the world's most amazing man for myself." Chris laughed again when Victor flushed red.

"He… Yuuri… he said that?" Feeling uncharacteristically shy, Victor jumped when Chris's hand covered his own fidgeting fingers.

"Victor," Chris waited until Victor looked at him. "Yuuri is wonderful. He is kind, caring, and a great friend. I have never seen Yuuri in love before, but I have a sneaking suspicion he is there or close to it. We'll try to make sure he doesn't act like a moron and break your heart, but be gentle with his heart too, alright?"

If anyone had told Victor in the first five minutes of meeting Chris that he would be sitting on his couch contemplating hugging the man, Victor would have said they were crazy. Now the thought didn't seem so farfetched. "I promise," Victor determinedly nodded.

"Now that that's settled," Chris dropped his arm back to his lap, tapping his thumb against his phone again. "Want to see pictures of all of us in pole dancing class?"

Knowing he should be embarrassed for how quickly he agreed, Victor rolled his eyes as Chris laughed at him. Not letting Chris's amusement detour his mission to see the pictures in the camera roll Victor had spotted first on Chris's phone, Victor eagerly sat up with his hands folded in his lap.

As Chris flipped through each picture, explaining the moves, taking extra time on each picture of Yuuri, and eventually inviting Victor to join them for a class, Victor decided that he wasn't just happy to be getting a dog and a hot boyfriend, but that he was really excited for the new friends he was potentially making during the process.

* * *

The last time Yuuri had looked at the clock time was edging closer to five p.m. He had spent most of his day obsessing over his email, the quiet of his store not helping his ability to focus on anything other than Victor's home visit with Chris.

Phichit had called five minutes after Yuuri had hit send on his recommendation email which provided the details of Victor's home and his support for the adoption as Makkachin's foster dad. Blushing through all of Phichit's good-intentioned and very specific teasing, Yuuri waited anxiously for Chris's response.

Five minutes before five, an email had finally arrived in Yuuri's inbox. It was brief and still managed to pack an unpleasant punch to Yuuri's stomach. Chris's flirty innuendo's about his approval of Victor "in every way" did nothing to quell the anxiety Yuuri had been cultivating all day. Wanting nothing more than to speak to Victor directly, Yuuri snagged his phone from its charger and opened the text strand with his boyfriend.

Unfortunately, it was at that exact moment that the after-work crowd came pouring into Yuuri's store. There were people swarming every section of the store, buying multiple bags of food and other staples to care for their animals. Each customer looked tired from their Mondays and Yuuri rung up each person and bagged their items with a smile and a speed perfected by years of working by himself.

By the time the rush finally began to dwindle, Yuuri glanced at the clock above his counter, surprised to find that an hour had disappeared from his day. From her spot on the ground at Yuuri's heels, Makkachin woofed out a doggy sigh, glancing up at him. "Day's almost done," Yuuri reassured her, squatting down to ruffle her ears and accept tired kisses. "I'm tired too, but we have puppies to visit and your daddy should be here any minute." Yuuri laughed when Makkachin gave him her best doggy smile, leaning down to wrap his arms around her neck.

Frozen at the counter, Victor wondered if it would be too sappy if he cried over the sight of Yuuri and Makkachin on the floor. He had caught the door and held it for the last customer who exited, sneaking in without the store's customized chime alerting anyone to his presence. Listening to Yuuri talk to Makkachin made him want to coo over their cuteness, leaving him speechless and standing stock still in front of the counter.

"Alright, let's see what damage has been done and clean up while we wait for your da-ACK!" Yuuri went to stand up, startling when he saw someone standing at the counter from the corner of his eye. Protectively, Makkachin jumped to her feet, halting mid-bark when she realized who it was. Excitedly, she attempted to scamper around the counter, her legs moving too fast for her body and sending her sprawling into Victor's open arms.

Bursting out laughing, Yuuri held his stomach and rolled onto his back. Out of his sight, he could hear Victor greet Makkachin, the solid thud telling him Victor had also found a place on the floor. For reasons unbeknownst to him, Yuuri laughed harder at the idea of them both ending up on the floor again.

"Your other daddy is crazy, Makka," Victor teased, crawling on his hands and knees around the counter and sitting back on his heels. Unable to hold back his own laughter, Victor shook his head as it overtook him, wheezing as he tried to ask Yuuri what was so funny.

The anxiety and nerves that Yuuri had built up over the day were washing out of him as he continued to laugh. Victor looked so good in his sweater and the way he was peering at Yuuri through lovingly confused eyes caused Yuuri to laugh harder about his own insecurities. _I'm an idiot_ , he thought, curling on his side and continuing to laugh as Victor laid down to face him.

"Hi," Victor said, smiling when Makkachin threw herself over his hip to be part of the pile. Tears ran down Yuuri's face and Victor used his thumb to wipe them off of Yuuri's flushed cheeks. He hoped there would never be a day when Yuuri's face wouldn't be able to light up his whole world. Leaning in to kiss his favorite smile, Victor pulled back only slightly to ask, "What exactly is so funny?"

Choking on another giggle, Yuuri scooted closer to Victor, uncaring as to how much potential dirt they were probably collecting on their clothing. He had vacuumed every inch of the floor that morning and scrubbed it as well so he hoped it wouldn't be too bad. Lacing his fingers into the hair at the back of Victor's head, Yuuri pulled him in for a proper kiss. "We keep ending up on my floor," he whispered, opening his eyes and going a little cross-eyed at Victor's closeness. Another laugh threatened to escape him as he made another sheepish confession. "And I… um… I was worried all day that… maybe… you would like Chris better than me." Feeling his face heat up, Yuuri slapped his hands over his eyes and rolled away from Victor.

Chuckling, Victor propped himself up on his elbow, curling his fingers around Yuuri's wrist and yanking it away from Yuuri's face. "And that's funny?" He was more than a little confused by Yuuri's line of thinking, wondering how his boyfriend had progressed from worry to hilarity.

"Yes… I guess… I mean the floor part definitely." Resting his free hand on his stomach, he watched as Victor played with the fingers on the hand he held. "I don't know, when I saw you, it's like… all the worries went away and I just felt… sure… or something." Not looking at Victor, Yuuri chewed on his bottom lip.

"Sure…" Victor ran Yuuri's words through his mind again. "Sure about us?" he asked, mind slightly distracted by Yuuri's adorable nibbling of his own lip.

"Yeah," Yuuri smiled, finally meeting Victor's eyes. "Sure about us." With a definitive nod, he wrapped his fingers in the front of Victor's sweater and pulled him into a quick kiss. "Maybe we should get off the floor?" he suggested, gently pushing Victor back and sitting up. "I have some straightening up to do and then we can go see Minami and the puppies. You are welcome to stay here and play with Makka if you want."

"I think…" Victor hefted himself off of the floor, rubbing Makkachin's head when she protested being upended from her place over Victor's legs. "I would like to help you, if that's ok?" Offering a hand to Yuuri, Victor pulled him from the floor, looping his arms around Yuuri's waist. "Then we can get to the puppies faster."

"Deal," Yuuri grinned, pecking one more kiss to Victor's cheek before wiggling out of his arms and moving to lock the front door. Turning around, he couldn't help the airy feeling in his chest as he looked at Victor and Makkachin eagerly waiting for his instructions.

* * *

There was a small part of Victor that had been disappointed when Yuuri had led the way to blue compact car parked behind the back of Katsuki's Pet Needs. In his mind, he and Yuuri had walked to Minami's house, hand and hand with Makkachin excitedly bounding in front of them, laughing and talking as they strolled through the dimming light of the evening. It was one of the many fantasies Victor had conjured up about their plans together and he had barely managed to control his pout when Yuuri had jogged down from his apartment in a clean shirt with the keys swinging from his index finger.

Only two minutes down the road, Victor gave up his minimal disappointment, smiling at his fingers tangled with Yuuri's over the center console and Makkachin's chin rested on his shoulder. Yuuri was quietly singing along to the radio and the warmth of the heater was just right, making Victor relax into his seat with a happy sigh. Letting his eyes slip shut, Victor rearranged his fantasy to include the exact scene that was occurring.

Glancing away from the road, Yuuri couldn't help being thankful for their town's longest red light. Victor's head was tipped back on the seat, Makkachin's chin pressed forward to touch him, and the hint of a smile was lingering on Victor's lips. Something about having Victor taking up space in a passenger seat that notoriously sat empty had Yuuri squeezing his fingers tighter around Victor's.

The light flicked to green and Yuuri moved his car forward, forcing himself to concentrate on where he was going. Minami's house was a destination that Yuuri could reach on autopilot, but he was carrying precious cargo tonight and he wanted to be extra safe. Using his pinky to flip on his blinker, Yuuri eased the off the main road and down into a neighborhood tucked at the bottom of a hill.

Minami's house could have easily been transplanted into Victor's neighborhood with its brightly colored front door and shutters along with the rainbow of flowers beginning to bloom in the front yard. Victor noted a sizeable backyard surrounded by a wooden fence which was taller than the other houses in the neighborhood.

As if reading Victor's mind, Yuuri nodded toward the fence. "Minami runs a doggy day care as well as working with the rescue. He actually got all his neighbors to agree to the height of his fence by offering them free boarding for their animals for a year." Grinning at the memory of Minami and his block party presentation, Yuuri turned into the driveway and cut off his engine. "The only family who doesn't have a pet convinced Minami to watch their kids for a week while the parents went out of town. Now those three kids come every day after school like clockwork and help with the puppies. They also make Christmas cookies with Minami… every… single… year." With a fond laugh, Yuuri opened his door, jogging around the front of the car to open Victor's as well and the back door for Makkachin.

"He seems like the type that would get along with children," Victor remarked, eyes roaming over the paw prints painted on Minami's garage door. "Very excitable and friendly, you know," he shrugged, following Yuuri over the painted stone path to Minami's front door.

"That… actually describes him perfectly," Yuuri chuckled, raising his hand and never landing his knock. The front door flew open revealing a very exuberant Minami.

"Come on, come on, come on!" Minami exclaimed, grabbing Yuuri's wrist and pulling him inside. Yuuri beckoned Victor to follow with Makkachin on their heels. "They are all awake right now and they are making the cutest sounds, Yuuri! I think this is my cutest litter ever!"

"You say that about all your litters," Yuuri teased, finally getting Minami to relinquish his hold on Yuuri's wrist. "Mom will be okay with Makka, right?" He flinched when Minami threw a look over his shoulder.

"Oh my god, for like the seventeenth time _yes_ ," Minami turned a corner, snagging the knob of the closest door and pulling it open. Victor's eyes went wide at the sound of tiny puppy noises floating up the stairs.

"How many are there?" he asked, continuing to trail Yuuri and Minami down the stairs. Makkachin hesitated at the top and Victor twisted around to encourage her to come with him.

"Twelve! Twelve tiny perfect little puppies!" Minami disappeared at the bottom of the steps, Yuuri vanishing a second after.

Noting the Minami's Nursery sign hanging on the wall as Victor descended the stairs, he was momentarily distracted by the room he found himself in. Spinning in a slow circle, he took in the half doors to multiple small rooms, each one painted in a different theme. At the center of the room was a carpet-like octagon, but it didn't look like any carpet Victor had ever seen. Pressing the toe of his shoe on it, he discovered it squished like a memory foam mattress but was covered in matte vinyl instead of cloth.

"Easy to clean," Minami commented, bending over one of the doors and speaking softly to the squeaking furballs who raised their tiny noses to greet him. It was easy to see how much Minami loved the animals he cared for and how much they loved him in return. Placing a hand on Makkachin's head, Victor waited to see what was supposed to happen next.

"Yuuri, since they are my Crayola litter, I was thinking…" Minami strode across the room, the puppy now tucked in his shirt pocket eagerly sniffing in the direction of Minami's chin. "Crayons!" he announced triumphantly, holding up tiny dog costumes in various colors.

"We are going to get those puppies… into those costumes?" Victor asked, eyebrows raised at the tiny face peeking out of Minami's pocket.

"Honestly, we've done weirder," Yuuri shrugged, standing up from his place by the puppy room holding his own little furball. He laughed and flinched one eye closed as the puppy nibbled on his glasses. "They are a lively bunch!" He lifted his shoulder to meet his ear when puppy teeth attempted to nibble on it.

If it was possible to die from cuteness overload, Victor was absolutely positive it was the way he was going to go with Yuuri in his life. Silently observing, Victor watched Minami toss Yuuri and a costume and both of them settle in sitting positions on the ground to wrestle their puppies. Unsure what to do with himself, Victor continued to check out the room around him.

"Victor! Grab a puppy and get dressing!" Minami suggested, holding up his blue crayon puppy in front of his face. "Yeah, come on Mr. Victor! Dress one of my siblings. Don't make me look like an idiot all by myself." Minami used a ridiculously high-pitched voice as he wiggled his adorable puppy back and forth.

Yuuri snorted as he raised the orange crayon furbaby in front of his own face. "Get a puppy Mr. Victor!" His terrible version of Minami's puppy voice had his voice cracking as he tried to hold back his laughter.

"How about it, Makka Girl?" Victor scratched behind one of Makkachin's ears, swearing he could see her smiling at him. "Want to check out the puppies?" As if she had been waiting for the opportunity to do so, Makkachin sprung from her perfect sitting position and rushed toward the green door which lead to the abundance of tiny barks and squeaks.

Peering over the half door, Victor couldn't help the drawn out "awwwww" that escaped him. Tiny puppies stumbled over each other, trying to climb up the door and excitedly yipping at them. The mother dog approached them much slower, crawling her front paws up the door and coming nose to nose with Makkachin. A long lick up Makkachin's nose caused her to sneeze and all the humans in the room burst out laughing.

Reaching into the wiggling chaos, Victor lifted out the quietest of the puppies. His eyes were sad and he was much smaller than his brothers and sisters, making Victor instantly fall in love with him. Lifting him to eye level, Victor pressed a kiss to the crown of the tiny head.

"That's Gold," Minami said, nodding to the puppy in Victor's hands. "He was the last one out and almost didn't make it. I had to feed him by hand for the first twenty-four hours, but now he latches onto his momma just fine. Figures the tiniest one is the toughest." Minami sat the puppy in his hands into a wooden cradle next to Yuuri's knee and moved to stand next to Victor. "I'm worried that no one will want to adopt him."

A tiny pink tongue licked the tip of Victor's nose and he knew he was a goner. "I want him," Victor announced, carefully curling the puppy into the crook of his elbow and kneeling so Makkachin could sniff him. "Can I have him? Will the rescue let me adopt two dogs so quickly?" Makkchin nudged Gold with her nose, leaving her chin on Victor's arm and letting the puppy rest against her cheek.

Minami raised an eyebrow in Yuuri's direction and shrugged a shoulder. "I mean, I think that would be a first for the rescue… but you do have an in with the owner's best friend." Shooting a wink at Yuuri, Minami reached back into the litter to lift out another puppy.

"Two dogs, Victor?" Yuuri asked, setting his puppy down into the cradle and smiling fondly as both of the puppies began to doze off next to each other. "Puppies are harder than our Makka." The words tumbled from him, leaving Minami with his eyebrows in his hairline and Victor grinning like Yuuri had just awarded him a million dollars. Ducking to hide his blush, Yuuri busied himself with petting Gold's head. The small squeak elicited from the crook of Victor's elbow was the definite sign of Yuuri's undoing.

"Makka, want to be a big sister? Then we will have a boy and a girl, Yuuri!" Victor wasn't going to let Yuuri out of this one. He could see Yuuri falling in love with the puppy as quickly as Victor had, and he looked at Minami hopefully.

"Put in an application when you leave here," Minami instructed, pocketing his puppy in his shirt pocket and grabbing at his camera. Snapping several pictures of the cozy potential family of four, Minami didn't resist another wink at Yuuri. "It'll be another seven weeks until they can go home and Makkachin already seems pretty settled with you two. _And_ I'll put in a good word with Phichit, but only if you help me get the rest of these puppers into their costumes!"

Pressing a kiss to Gold's tiny head, Yuuri retrieved the gold crayon costume and laid it over Victor's knee. Hesitantly, he left his boyfriend's side, plucking another puppy from the other side of the door. "That one is Magenta!" Minami declared, tossing Yuuri a pinkish colored costume while Minami wrestled his own chubby puppy into a tiny green hat.

Smiling at the squirming puppy, Yuuri placed her in his lap, tugging on the little costume and laughing as Victor struggled to do the same. He wasn't positive what Phichit would say about Victor adopting two dogs so close together, but as he watched Victor gingerly hooking the tiny hat under Gold's chin and holding him up for Makkachin to inspect, Yuuri was absolutely certain he was going to beg Phichit to say yes.

********************7

They had stayed at Minami's house, dressing and undressing puppies and posing them for various photographs for almost an hour. In that time, Yuuri had convinced Minami to retell the Jell-O puppy story and Makkachin and Minami's momma dog had run excited laps all over Minami's backyard. Victor had snapped multiple pictures of the doggy-friendly playset Minami had built, taking notes on how Minami had developed it and scheduling a time for Minami to come look at Victor's backyard. Makkachin had been incredibly silly sliding down the extra-wide slide, and Victor definitely planned to spend any money needed to get her one of her own.

When it came time to leave, Yuuri had to practically pull Victor away from Gold, only succeeding in his efforts when Minami promised Victor he could visit whenever he wanted to. Yuuri pretended he didn't see Minami slipping a business card and a stack of free doggy play day coupons into Victor's hand, smiling at his feet when Victor gave Minami a grateful hug. Accepting his own hug, Yuuri made him swear to send him a copy of the pictures, and pulled Victor back up the stairs by his hand.

Dinner had been entertaining, eaten outdoors on a heated porch of a local brewery. Knowing he would still need to drive Victor safely home, Yuuri indulged in one drink at the beginning of their meal, leaving him comfortably relaxed and unwilling to argue with Victor's insistency that Makkachin get the most experience cut of meat on the doggy menu.

Unlike some of the other dogs who were seemingly determined to knock over waiters and exhibit a number of bad habits, Makkachin laid quietly between Yuuri's and Victor's feet, her chin resting over the laces of Victor's shoe. On the table, Yuuri's and Victor's fingers stayed laced together until they were forced to let go when their food arrived.

Halfway through their meal, Victor's phone chimed with an email. The official declaration of Victor's adoption approval and his ability to welcome Makkachin home as soon as the next day. Yuuri had received a message of his own, a simple text from Phichit that said "I know you'll miss her, but it will work out. Promise."

Yuuri pushed aside the lump in his throat so that he wouldn't interfere with Victor's happiness. Makkachin was never meant to be Yuuri's and at least he knew that with Victor as his boyfriend, he was guaranteed to see Makkachin more often than if she had gone to someone else. Still, it was bittersweet knowing that this would be the last night he would get to cuddle with Makkachin in the comfort of his own bed.

The hum of Yuuri's engine filled the silence in the car as they sat outside of Victor's house. Makkachin laid sprawled on her back with her feet in the air across the backseat, worn out from her busy day and snoring softly. In the front seat, Victor and Yuuri were chasing the taste of beer and sweet cheesecake from each other's lips, kissing as if they wouldn't see each other the next day.

"You could…" Victor paused to breathe, hand remaining tangled in Yuuri's hair. "You could… come in…" He knew that they had agreed to take it slow, but that didn't stop him from wanting to keep Yuuri with him for a bit longer.

Kissing Victor deeply, Yuuri contemplated the idea, wondering briefly if there was a way to contact his normal delivery guy and put off his Tuesday delivery for a few hours. Resigning himself to the unrealistic nature of that plan, Yuuri let himself linger in Victor's kisses a little longer. "I have…" kissing Victor again, Yuuri felt his seatbelt dig into his hip as he tried to press closer to Victor's chest. "I have a delivery truck at seven thirty." Making himself rest for a minute, Yuuri propped his forehead on Victor's shoulder. "Otherwise I would."

"I have a proposition," Victor ran his hands over Yuuri's back, trying to calm himself so that he wouldn't be embarrassed when he finally managed to get out of Yuuri's car. "Tomorrow, after you close… what if you bring Makkachin… and we have a sleepover." Massaging the muscles in Yuuri's upper back, Victor wondered what face Yuuri was making where his face was hidden against Victor. "Nothing…. nefarious… I just thought, Makkachin might be more comfortable if you are here for her first night. I could cook… or… we could cook… or we could order in…" Victor was babbling, his nerves getting the best of him due to Yuuri's silence.

Biting his lip to avoid crying, Yuuri angled his head to kiss Victor's neck. "I would love that," he sighed, the emotions within him still teetering between elated for Victor and bittersweet for himself. "I bet Makka would too." Finally feeling brave, Yuuri lifted his head in time to catch the relief flash through Victor's beautiful eyes. Placing his hands on both sides of Victor's face, Yuuri tilted his head to kiss Victor's forehead.

Makkchin let out a particularly loud snore, causing them both to giggle back at her. "I guess you should get our tired baby home," Victor said, shaking his head as Makkachin snored again. "I can't wait for tomorrow night."

"Me either," Yuuri smiled, feeling his heart sink in his chest. He wanted to be excited for Makkachin and Victor, and even for himself in a lot of ways, but there was still a little sadness pulling at the strings of his heart.

Opening the passenger door, Victor arched back to Yuuri for one last kiss, swinging his legs onto the curb and ducking out of the car. "See you tomorrow!" he called over his shoulder, walking backwards up his walkway while waving. He smiled at Yuuri's wave, turning only when he finally reached his door and pulling his keys from his pocket to unlock it. With a last wave over his shoulder, Victor entered into his dark house.

Tomorrow Makkachin was going to come home, but Victor had something even bigger in mind. Knowing it was spontaneous and potentially a little crazy, he kicked off his shoes and practically sprinted for his computer, ready to spend all night making plans.

Behind the wheel of his car, Yuuri guided himself and Makkachin back to his apartment, ready to spend one last night cuddling her in his bed.


	5. Chapter 5

**If you came back to this story after a year of not knowing whether it would finish, I can't tell you how much I appreciate your support! This is the final chapter and it's longer than the other chapters and you get a little flash forward epilogue at the end :)**

* * *

By the time the store officially opened on Tuesday morning, Yuuri was already exhausted. Rolling his shoulders, he regretted not asking Yuri or Otabek to come in and help unload all of the delivered supplies. Had he remembered to ask, they would have gladly shown up for measly cost of fifty dollars each and two free bags of cat food, but Yuuri had been so caught up in spending time with Makkachin the night before that he had forgotten. Vowing to never make that mistake again, Yuuri cracked his neck one last time before unlocking the front doors for the day.

Moving behind the counter, his head shot up when the front door chime sang over the store. Normal Tuesdays usually didn't bring customers until mid-morning, those taking advantage of newly delivered supplies and promotional discount hours on the dog baths. It was rare that anyone was at his door so quickly and Yuuri studied the pretty woman as she approached his counter.

"Hi Yuuri!" she chirped, placing a coffee cup and a folded paper bag on his counter.

Her name popped into Yuuri's mind as he spotted the logo on the cup. "Good morning, Isabella. Is… is this for me?" He didn't want to get his hopes up, even as Isabella nudged the tempting smelling coffee closer to him.

"Yup! Your boyfriend called this morning and said that he was tied up on a big project and couldn't surprise you. He offered to pay me to deliver this to you. I didn't take his money to deliver, don't worry! I just thought it was so sweet, I couldn't resist!" Isabella grinned as she told her story, leaning on Yuuri's counter with her chin propped up on her hand. "He really is the sweetest man, Yuuri. I bet you are the cutest couple!"

Feeling his ears burn, Yuuri couldn't help his ridiculously big smile. Wrapping a hand around the paper coffee cup, he took a tentatively sip, relishing in the warmth trickling down his throat. "JJ makes great coffee, but this is amazing. It must be your doing." He felt his own blush fade as Isabella's darkened.

"Aw thanks! I love making coffee but JJ has his own style, you know? The foam art is my specialty." She continued to linger, playing with the display tags on the small hooks in front of the counter.

"Oh!" Yuuri ducked under his counter and grabbed a small bag. "My distributer brought me some of these to give out as samples. Any chance you want to let Rex try them and let me know if he likes them?" Sliding the treat bag across the counter, Yuuri couldn't help picturing JJ and Isabella's twenty-seven pound cat. For a butterball covered in fluff, Rex still acted like a kitten and spent most of his time wandering the coffee shop looking for food scraps to steal.

Plucking the bag from the counter, Isabella flipped it over to look at the ingredients. "These look fancy! I am sure he will love them. Thank you!" Leaning over the counter, Isabella caught Yuuri in an awkward one-armed hug. "Gotta run, make sure JJ doesn't get distracted and burn the place down. Enjoy your breakfast!" Pausing at the door, Isabella looked back. "And don't forget to invite us to the wedding!"

Choking on his coffee, Yuuri listened to Isabella's laughter carry down the street. He was on day three of knowing Victor and he definitely was _not_ already thinking about marriage.

Okay, he wasn't _really_ thinking about marriage. Googling doggy bridesmaids dresses and miniature suits was a totally normal thing to do at five a.m. when he couldn't sleep. He definitely hadn't stumbled upon a Pinterest account with dog themed wedding ideas, nor had he started an account of his own so he could save pictures of said ideas. Marriage was definitely _not_ on his mind. For sure.

As if reading his ridiculous thoughts, Makkachin looked up at him with her eyebrows raised. "Oh hush," Yuuri joked, shaking his head and grabbing the bag from JJ's café. Unrolling the top, Yuuri discovered a giant chocolate muffin and a plastic wrapped dog cookie. "Your daddy is going to fatten us both up," Yuuri commented, carefully unrolling the treat intended for Makkachin. "Sit," Yuuri commanded, waiting until Makkachin obeyed and then handing her the treat. It warmed his heart seeing how gently she retrieved it from his fingers.

Pulling his own breakfast from the bag, Yuuri dragged his stool closer to the counter, plunking himself down and taking a large bite. The sweetness filled his mouth making him groan in happiness. Unlocking his phone, he sent Victor a one-handed text. "Thank you so much for breakfast! You're the best!" He followed the last word with a number of hearts and then snapped a quick picture of Makkachin who was happily gnawing her treat between her paws. "Makka says thank you too!" He watched the three dots appear next to Victor's name and took another bite of his muffin while he waited for the reply.

"Glad you like it! Makka too! Busy day today but I can't wait to see you tonight! Are you coming as soon as the store closes?"

Yuuri smiled at the emojis with heart eyes that appeared between all of Victor's sentences. "Yup, we'll be there. Close at six and then we'll drive over." He had contemplated walking, but with his overnight bag and the way his back was feeling from handling stock himself, Yuuri decided driving would be best.

"Great! I will see you then! Love you both!"

Yuuri blinked at his phone, the word love sticking out as if it was in bigger font than the rest of the sentence. Not knowing how to respond, Yuuri abandoned his food on the counter and squatted down next to Makka. "Come on, girl, let's take a selfie for your daddy." Encouraging her to ignore her treat for a moment, Yuuri put his arm around her and held up two fingers while winking. He quickly sent the picture with the caption "you too!" and then threw his phone on the counter, determined not to think about it for the rest of the day.

Besides, he had his own project to think about and that did require enlisting the help of his favorite grumpy adoption employee. Pulling up his email, Yuuri quickly drafted a paragraph to Yuri with Minami cc'ed to fulfill part of the request. Even thinking about something so small, Yuuri's heart was tripping all over itself and he knew he would be anxious until they responded.

Although it was a simple project, it would help Yuuri distract himself from the rest of the day and get him in the mood to celebrate with Victor and Makkachin that night. The nerves about spending the night were undeniable but looking down at Makkachin happily draped across his foot, Yuuri knew that he wouldn't miss the opportunity to spend another night with her. Smiling to himself about the literal dog pile they would hopefully all make in Victor's bed, Yuuri refreshed his email again and excitedly saw Yuri's snarky response popping up. Heart still doing somersaults in his chest, Yuuri was ready to put his plan in motion and survive the next few hours of his day.

* * *

Victor promptly saved Yuuri's picture and applied it as the background on his phone. He had been a little horrified at his overstep, distracted by the recipe he was staring at and attempting to respond to Yuuri as if he wasn't in the grocery store trying to find ingredients for Yuuri's favorite dinner.

When he had sent the email after their date, he had forwarded it to Chris, Phichit and Minami to ensure that one of them would respond. All three responses had come within minutes and had shared the same information.

Yuuri's favorite dish was called katsudon and he preferred his mother's recipe over anyone else's. Feeling far too shy to ask for the contact information for Yuuri's mother, Victor was relieved when Phichit's email contained a PDF of the exact recipe needed. Out of gratitude, Victor had sent a coffee and donut delivery to the rescue, hoping that he had estimated enough for anyone working that morning, and he had scheduled a pizza to be delivered to Minami around lunch time.

Proud that he only had to ask for the location of two ingredients, Victor guided his basket to the cashier while mentally reviewing what else he needed to do. There were bags of clothes to be donated and flowers to be purchased along with picking up the banner he had ordered for express printing. At the print shop he would also pick up the pictures Minami had emailed him and he had confirmed that they had frames for purchase. Then a just-in-case stop at the drugstore before racing home. After his errands, there would be organizing and decorating to make sure tonight went perfectly.

The only thing Victor was currently regretting was that he hadn't completed his application for Gold's adoption until almost one a.m. and he was positive he wouldn't hear back from Phichit or anyone else at the rescue before Yuuri and Makkachin arrived at his house for dinner. It made his surprise and his request feel like it was missing something, but Victor hoped that Yuuri wouldn't feel the same way. Even if he wasn't allowed to adopt Gold, Victor was happy with the little family he was creating with Makkachin and Yuuri. At least, he hoped Yuuri wanted to be a part of that family.

Using his nerves to fight his tiredness from barely sleeping the night before, Victor carried his shopping bags into his kitchen and carefully lined all of his ingredients on the counter. Nodding at his own organization, he retrieved his keys from where he had tossed them on the table and headed back out to complete the rest of his checklist.

* * *

"Katsudon!"

Poking his head from behind a rack, Yuuri spotted the source of his most absurd nickname at the front of the store. Dusting his hands off on his jeans, Yuuri grabbed a box of wet cat food from the nearest shelf and walked to the front to greet his friend.

"You're lucky I like you," Yuri said, hopping up on the stool behind the counter. "This is the cheesiest thing anyone has ever asked me to design. And I work for Phichit." Laying the laminated paper on the counter, Yuri crossed his arms over his chest.

Yuuri managed to not roll his eyes at Yuri's innate snark. As the graphic designer for Phichit's rescue, Yuri's talents couldn't be denied by anyone, but his attitude was a sharp contrast to the sunny and bright designs he created for his job. Yuuri had always found the duality of Yuri's personality fascinating, especially when it came to how he interacted with people versus how he interacted with animals.

Placing the box of cat food on the counter, Yuuri pushed it toward Yuri. "For you. I know it is a favorite in your house." Not pointing out the way Yuri softened immediately was a success that Yuuri felt internally proud of. Nodding in response to Yuri's soft "thanks," Yuuri gingerly reached for the smooth plastic in front of him. "You laminated it?"

"Look, don't get all mushy on me. I saw that guy and how you two were, and from what Chris said he is probably the type that is going to save everything you ever give him… so I figured… this way it would last." Yuri shrugged a shoulder, not making eye contact with Yuuri and instead bending down to stroke Makkachin's ears.

Lifting the sheet, Yuuri admired Yuri's skills with regard to layout and placement. He hated to ask Phichit to keep Gold's approved adoption a secret, but Yuuri really wanted to be the one to tell Victor. Handing him the laminated certificate surrounded by a border of the pictures Minami took seemed like a creative way to surprise Victor with the news.

"You know, it's your fault that Phichit now wants one of those certificates for every adopter." Yuri scowled. "But I will forgive you because your man sent enough coffee and donuts to the rescue this morning for an entire army. He does know there are… like… five of us that work there full-time, right?"

"Victor did _what_?" Yuuri felt his face flush thinking about how much teasing Phichit was going to do now.

"Sent Minami a pizza too," Yuri commented, pulling out his phone and unlocking to show Yuuri the pictures. "Phichit put the pictures up on Insta, declaring Victor the adopter of the month. If Phichit wasn't already taken, I'm sure you would have competition by now."

Yuuri laughed, picturing the squeals Minami (who often forgot to eat lunch) had probably let loose upon discovering a giant pizza being delivered to his door. He could imagine Phichit's surprise as well, and his love for his boyfriend grew more, even knowing that he probably would face some good-natured ribbing from his friends.

"Chris said he invited him to class on Friday night, are you prepared for that?" Slipping his phone back in his pocket, Yuri was unaware of the heart failure he had just caused Yuuri.

"Class? You mean… pole class?" He hadn't exactly told Victor about his favorite cardio activity or about the fact that the class he took mostly consisted of the guys from the rescue. Wincing, Yuuri stared at Yuri and waited for an answer.

"Oh please, don't act like that's some sort of burden. Your dumb ass is the best in the class and I'm sure Victor will have to be treated for various injuries when he falls off the pole or bangs his head because he can't stop watching you." Flushing red, Yuri jumped from his seat, grabbing the box of cat food. "You tell anyone I said that, and you're dead meat."

Chuckling, Yuuri crossed behind the counter, forcing Yuri into a hug which Yuri refused to reciprocate. Yuri was surly but Yuuri knew better than anyone but Otabek that there was a sweet side hiding underneath all the sass and leopard print. Letting Yuri go, Yuuri ducked under the counter and retrieved the rest of the free sample treats he had received that morning. "Take these too, the kittens should be able to eat them as well as the big cats. And thanks for helping me out. I appreciate it."

"Yeah whatever," Yuri balanced the box of treat bags on top of his cat food and headed for the door. Pausing with the door partially open, he looked at his feet as he talked. "Good luck with whatever you're doing. Your boyfriend seems… eccentric… but you look happy when you think about him, so good for you two or whatever." He fled from the store, the door banging shut before Yuuri could respond.

Picking up the certificate Yuri had made for him, Yuuri couldn't help the cheek-aching smile that broke over his face. The idea was definitely cheesy, but he knew Victor would love it and he couldn't wait to see his boyfriend's face when he read the good news.

Feeling more relieved that he had earlier that morning, Yuuri slid the certificate under his counter for safe keeping and went back to stocking his shelves with Makkachin following along with every step.

* * *

Victor stared at the phone number sitting on his phone, completely terrified to hit dial. Throughout his career he had talked to everyone from CEOs and CFOs of the country's largest companies to small business owners. Never had he been so intimidated by a possible phone conversation that he couldn't simply hit dial.

But this was _Yuuri's mother_. The human who had brought Yuuri into existence and one half of the parental units who had raised Yuuri into the adorably perfect man who Victor had fallen for. It didn't matter how many times Phichit had insisted that Hiroko Katsuki was the nicest woman alive nor did it matter that Phichit had called her and gotten permission to give Victor her number, Victor couldn't bring himself to make the call.

Around him the house was perfectly decorated, banner hanging proudly where it would be seen as soon as Yuuri walked into the dining room and brand new blue and gold plates were laid across the table. There was a platter of dog cookies that Victor had made from scratch and a cheesecake tucked into the middle shelf of Victor's fridge with fancy little serving bowls filled with chocolate sauce, strawberries and caramel. Dessert wine was chilling in the wine cooler and bottles of sake were arranged on the table. Victor had even found cloth poodle napkins for the occasion.

Half of his closet was now empty and there was a second dresser built and sitting next to his own. New pillows were stacked on the bed and a second duvet covered the bottom half designating a place for Makkachin. Although he might have been too presumptuous in his planning, Victor wanted Yuuri to know he was sincere and showing was better than telling.

Yet he had hit a snag in dinner preparations. Try as he might, the pork cutlets didn't look anything like the picture he had discovered on Yuuri's Instagram. He wasn't sure if they were undercooked or overcooked, but Victor had desperately called Phichit and begged for help. Fifteen minutes later, he had received a text with Yuuri's mom's phone number and thus began his current mental meltdown.

"You can do this, Nikiforov," he said out loud, bouncing from foot to foot as if he was going into a fight instead of calling his boyfriend's mother. "This is for Yuuri. Phichit said it was okay. You! Can! Do! This!" Slamming his thumb on the call button before he could hesitate any longer, Victor lifted the phone to his ear and waited.

"Victor!" Hiroko answered, sounding chipper and excited. "Phichit told me you would call! Yuuri has told me about you and I can't wait to meet you!"

All of the tension bled out of Victor's shoulders as he listened to Hiroko speak. He remembered the way his own mother had been openly welcoming to all of his friends, and immediately felt the sting of tears in his eyes. Wiping them away with his finger, Victor cleared his throat to fight back the lump growing there. "Hello, Mrs. Katsuki, it is a pleasure to speak with you. I'm sorry to call you for advice, but I want to make katsudon and I am screwing it up… royally." Victor blushed at the laugh filtering through his phone.

"Alright sweetheart, can you switch to camera mode? Yuuri taught me how to do this so let's do this right!" Her cheerful face appeared on Victor's screen as soon as he hit the video call button and he felt his heart melt. Hiroko had the same bright smile as her son and Victor found himself wishing he could hug her.

They stayed on the phone for an hour, Hiroko gently guiding Victor through all of the steps needed and praising his success. In between each step, she asked him questions and answered his questions in turn. Victor felt as if he had known her for years, instead of just sixty minutes and he found himself feeling sad when it was time to end the phone call.

"Good luck tonight," Hiroko winked, her smile as bright as it was when the call began. "I know he'll say yes, if the way he talks about you is any indication. And I expect to see you both on Saturday night for dinner."

"Yes, ma'am," Victor responded, grinning at Hiroko's giggle on the other end of the call. "Thank you for all of your help. I can't wait for Saturday."

"Me either!" Hiroko said cheerfully, a hand coming up to wave. "Goodbye, Vicchan!"

"Goodbye!" Victor waved back, his thoughts stopping for a moment when he heard the name she called him. _It is an affectionate form of Victor in my native language_ , he remembered Yuuri saying and his smile brightened.

Dinner was perfect, the house was perfect and now all Victor had to do was shower so he could be perfect too. Determined to stay calm and think positive, Victor threw his apron into his laundry basket and headed to take a quick shower. He had less than thirty minutes until Yuuri arrived at his doorstep and he had to be ready. His future depended on it.

* * *

Attaching the leash to Makkachin's collar, Yuuri adjusted her big red bow which matched his own red sweater. He had taken multiple pictures of their coordinating looks, sending them to Phichit to ask for opinions. His friend had unfortunately collected opinions from everyone at the rescue causing Yuuri to become flushed and nervous, especially with some of the more lewd comments inquiring as to how easy his outfit would be to remove. Phichit had also called to make sure Yuuri wasn't packing "gross pajamas" and was pleasantly surprised to find out that Yuuri had closed the store for an hour to purchase new pajamas with a matching set for Victor. This information brought on another round of Phichit's teasing, but Yuuri found himself not minding it so much. If Phichit's teasing was the price he had to pay for having someone like Victor in his life, Yuuri was happy to pay in spades.

Tugging on Makkachin's leash, Yuuri smiled down at her. "Ready to go home?" he asked, his smiling turning bittersweet when she excitedly woofed. After tonight Yuuri's apartment was going to feel very quiet and he wasn't prepared to think about it anymore. Focusing on the night ahead instead, Yuuri led Makkachin out of the back of the store and toward his car, ready to spend their first night in Victor's home.

* * *

The front door to Victor's house opened and Yuuri was immediately hit with the smell of katsudon. Stopping in full shock, Yuuri dropped Makkachin's leash and barely managed to kiss Victor back when he leaned in. "Is that… do I smell…?" It smelled almost exactly like his mother's katsudon and Yuuri could feel the rumbles starting in his stomach.

"It's katsudon!" Victor declared, unclipping Makkachin's leash with one hand while taking Yuuri's bag from his shoulder with the other. Dropping the back in the foyer, Victor grabbed Yuuri's hand. "I was told by a little birdie that it is your favorite. Well, technically, three little birdies." Pulling Yuuri toward the dinner table, Victor paused to let him read the banner.

In blue and black the words "Welcome Home Makkachin!" hung above the table. Yuuri grinned at the professionally made banner, remembering Yuri's comment about Victor being eccentric. The covered dishes were also on the table and the smell of katsudon was undeniable from underneath their lids. "Victor, this is so sweet! But… you didn't make katsudon for Makkachin did you?"

Quickly deciding against teasing Yuuri, Victor shook his head. "Our girl gets grilled pork and rice. I didn't know if dogs can have eggs and I thought the sauce wasn't a good idea either." His rambling was interrupted when Yuuri kissed him.

"You are the sweetest person," Yuuri remarked, cupping Victor's cheek and watching the sparkles in Victor's eyes. "I'm excited to try your katsudon. I hope it's… eatable." Yuuri snickered when Victor looked at him with a look a betrayal.

"Maybe now you won't get any," Victor teased, moving to pull out Yuuri's chair for him. "And I worked so hard on this too!" Wrapping his fingers around the nubs on each silver cover, Victor lifted them to reveal the bowls of katsudon. His heartbeat raced as Yuuri's eyes went wide.

"Oh wow," Yuuri leaned over his bowl to inhale the delicious scent of his food. "Victor, this smells perfect! It smells just like my mom's." Not waiting for Victor to settle into his seat, Yuuri plucked the plastic chopsticks from inside the fold of his poodle napkin and dug into his bowl. "Ohmagawd," Yuuri moaned, closing his eyes in ecstasy. "How…" Digging in for another bite, Yuuri couldn't complete his thought due to being overwhelmed with deliciousness.

"I video chatted… with your mom," Victor took his own chopsticks in hand and immediately dropped then when Yuuri began to choke. Slamming his chair back, Victor jumped to his feet pounding on Yuuri's back. "Yuuri! Yuuri! Breathe!" he yelled while Makkachin threw herself onto Yuuri's lap.

Waving Victor away, Yuuri smacked his own chest, coughing through the rice he had attempted to inhale. Reaching for his wine glass, Yuuri took a sizable gulp and stared at his bowl. "My mother?" he croaked, raising an eyebrow as Victor returned to his seat.

"Um, yes?" Victor played with his chopsticks, not eating despite being insanely hungry and dying to try the food in front of him. "Phichit told me you liked her katsudon the best and sent me the recipe, but I couldn't get the pork right so Phichit sent me her number and then we video chatted while I cooked so that I wouldn't screw it up because I wanted everything to be perfect and…"

"Victor!" Yuuri grabbed Victor's fidgeting hands. "Breathe!" he laughed, lifting Victor's right hand and kissing his knuckles. "It's fine, my mother probably loved every second of it. I just… she didn't say anything embarrassing… did she?" When he had arrived at Victor's doorstep he anticipated the most awkward part of their evening would be discussing Yuuri's pole dancing, but now he had an entirely new potentially awkward conversation on his hands. He had talked more about Victor to Mari than anyone else in his family, but his mother knew enough details to make life embarrassing.

"No," Victor shook his head vigorously. "She said you had talked about me, which made me really happy and invited us for dinner on Saturday." Finally feeling calm enough to eat, Victor dug his chopsticks into his bowl and shoved a bite into his mouth. "Wow, this really is good. I can't wait to try your mom's!" Scooping up more food, Victor stuffed it in his mouth not caring about how fast he was eating.

"Saturday, huh?" Yuuri asked, settling into his own food and trying to wrap his head around Victor talking to his mom. He didn't mind the idea like he thought he should, instead he imagined how happy his mom must have been to get that phone call. She had asked him the day before when she would get to meet Victor and it seemed that Victor had already answered that question. Little wings of nervousness fluttered in Yuuri's stomach, but he realized they were fueled more by excitement than worry. He wanted Victor to meet his family, and Yuuri couldn't help the smile widening on his face as he continued to eat.

"Saturday, yes," Victor confirmed, sipping his wine. "Seeing as how we will be busy on Friday night." Luckily, he waited to make the comment while Yuuri was in between eating and reaching for his wine glass so another choking incident was avoided. Calmly, Victor set down his wine glass. "Chris invited me to… your class… I don't have to go if you don't want, but… I saw some pictures…"

"Oh no," Yuuri groaned dropping his head in his hands. It was one thing for Chris to have invited Victor to join them, Yuuri had almost gotten over this decision, but he had no idea exactly what kind of pictures Chris had in his possession. Yuuri pointedly never looked at Chris's phone so he could remain ignorant on this matter.

"You're stunning, Yuuri," Victor put his hand on Yuuri's knee under the table. "I don't mean to embarrass you, but after seeing the pictures, I jumped at the chance to say yes. I commend Chris for not making fun of me for drooling." Squeezing Yuuri's leg, Victor guided his mind away from the image of Yuuri dangling from the pole by only his powerful thighs. "I really want to see you in action."

Redness seeped over Yuuri's cheeks, covering his ears and burning down his neck. Yuri's reassurances about his skills filtered back into his mind and Yuuri clung to them as he nodded his head. "You can come. I… I think… from now on wherever I go… I would like you to come too." The words tripped from him before Yuuri could make them stop and he glanced up at Victor to make sure he hadn't made him uncomfortable. Catching the watering of Victor's eyes, Yuuri leaned over the table to kiss Victor's cheek. "I mean it, you know."

"I'm… really happy to hear you say that…" Reaching to the empty chair across from Yuuri, Victor picked up a box and placed it next to Yuuri's bowl. "I was going to wait until after dinner, but I have a present for you." Nervously, Victor fiddled with the ostentatious bow on the top of his gift.

"Wait," Yuuri pushed his chair back and stood. "I have a present for you too." Feeling his stomach bounce with nervousness, Yuuri went to find his bag in the foyer. Retrieving the thin box, Yuuri returned to the dining room and placed it in Victor's hands. "Open yours first," he requested, too nervous to be able to concentrate on anything beyond giving Victor the news about Gold.

"I…" Victor wanted to argue, but he decided not to, feeling his own excitement welling up inside of him. Tearing off the ribbon Yuuri had tied around the box, Victor carefully slipped his finger underneath the wrapping paper. Moving his empty bowl to the side, he shook the lid from the box and set it down before folding back the tissue paper.

A full ten seconds passed as Yuuri watched Victor read the paper laid inside of the box. The silence that hung in those ten seconds made Yuuri's mind scatter into an angry swarm of thought hornets, his fists clenching and unclenching over his thighs. Victor had filled out the adoption application for Gold so Yuuri assumed he was serious about wanting to adopt the tiny puppy, but as Victor stared into the box, Yuuri began to question himself.

"Yuuri…" Victor finally looked up, eyes wide and face beaming. "Really? He is going to be ours?" Unbelieving the beautiful certificate surrounded by pictures of himself with Yuuri and their two dogs, Victor couldn't get his voice louder than a whisper. Everything he wanted was represented in this box and now he was even more excited for Yuuri to open his own present. When Yuuri nodded, Victor got out of his chair and moved back in to Yuuri's space to hug him. "Thank you so much! I love this. I know where I want to hang it… but that has to do with your present…" Kneeling by Yuuri's chair, Victor pushed his wrapped box toward Yuuri. "Will you open it?"

Having Victor on his knees next to Yuuri's side was causing the blood to thunder in Yuuri's ears. He didn't know why Victor was kneeling, but there was a part of him that was terrified to find out. Without looking at Victor, Yuuri carefully untied the bow on his package, closing his eyes before opening the lid.

Inside were carefully arranged frames, each showing a different picture taken by Minami. Some of the pictures were featured in the certificate Yuuri had given to Victor while others Yuuri hadn't seen before. Trailing his fingers over the largest picture, a photo of himself and Victor laughing while Makkachin and Gold licked their faces, Yuuri could feel himself getting emotional.

"Yuuri," Victor began, hearing the shake in his own voice, "I know we haven't known each other very long, but I have never met anyone like you and I… well… I want to raise our little dog family with you… so…"

"I'm not ready to get married," Yuuri blurted, stunning himself and shocking Victor into silence. "I mean… wow… ok… like I really, really like you and like I really want to spend… pretty much every minute with you… but-"

Bursting out laughing, Victor drop his head onto Yuuri's thigh, feeling Makkachin slump onto his back. Yuuri's stuttering wasn't funny, but Victor's nerves were bubbling too high and Yuuri's terrified stammering had snapped some of the tension inside of him. "Oh Yuuri, I'm… I'm not asking you to marry me. Not yet, at least." Wiping a hand down his face, Victor took both of Yuuri's hands in his own. "I was… well I was going to ask you to move in with me." Afraid to see Yuuri's facial expression, Victor kept his eyes trained on their intertwined fingers, feeling relieved when Yuuri didn't pull away.

"Move… in…" Yuuri processed the thought, mind going a million miles a second while trying to decide how he felt about the suggestion. Rationally, he wanted to tell himself it was too soon to contemplate such a significant change, but his heart didn't really care about rational. The idea of waking up to Victor, Makkachin and Gold every morning and piling into bed with their little family every night made Yuuri's heart beat with pure joy. _Screw rational_ , Yuuri thought, tugging Victor up with him when he stood to throw his arms around Victor's shoulders. "Yes!" he shouted, making both of them jump. "I mean, yes… I'll move in with you." The last word was muffled by Victor's lips pressing in for a kiss. Sighing, Yuuri happily kissed back, loving the way he could feel Victor's smile against his lips. "You know, you could turn the space above my store into an office. Then we could take the pups to work with us every day." Yuuri squealed when Victor picked him up and spun him in a circle.

"I love that idea! Oh! Let me show you the bedroom! I made room for you!" Putting Yuuri back on his feet, Victor dragged him toward the bedroom, stumbling when Yuuri tugged him back.

"You made room for me?" Yuuri teased, kissing Victor's cheeks when they turned red. "You were that sure I was going to say yes?" He loved the way Victor's smile turned sheepish.

"I was hopeful. _Really_ hopeful. You'll see." Scooping Yuuri up in his arms, Victor carried him toward the bedroom, ready to show Yuuri how much Victor wanted him to stay.

Later, after the dishes were done and they were tangled beneath Victor's bed sheets in their matching poodle pajamas with Makkachin draped over their legs, Yuuri ran his fingers through Victor's hair, smiling about his own luck. "I'm so glad you came into the store," he said, kissing Victor's forehead and resting on the pillow Victor had bought just for him.

"It's weird," Victor said, sounding contemplative. "When I was walking to your store on Sunday, I had this feeling that my life was going to change. I thought it was because I was going to find a dog, but it turns out, I found a family." Tears caught in Victor's eyelashes and he didn't bother to wipe them away. "I'm really excited to see what happens next," he whispered, scooting closer to Yuuri.

"Me too," Yuuri agreed, wrapping his arms around Victor and pulling him to his chest. "Sundays were always my favorite days, you know?" He smiled as he snuggled closer to Victor, feeling Victor sigh. "But I think… with you… and Makka and Gold… I think that every day is going to be my favorite now."

With Victor's arms securely around him and the weight of Makkachin over his legs, Yuuri smiled knowing that this wasn't the last night that he was fearing, but instead it was his first night with his new family. And today was the first of all his favorite days to come.

* * *

 **Epilogue**

Eight paws scurried over the kitchen floor where Yuuri was kneeling, trying to tie ribbons around two very wiggly necks. He laughed as his cheeks were licked, hands shaking with excitement as both dogs tried to climb into his lap instead of cooperate with his plans. "Alright, alright, Daddy's going to be home soon, we have to be ready with our surprise! Sit!" Carefully, Yuuri adjusted the sign around Makkachin's neck and the ribbon around Gold's tinier one. "Do you think Daddy will say yes?" Yuuri asked nervously, looking at the happy faces of their dogs for reassurance. Standing to straighten his own shirt, Yuuri held up a hand to keep the dogs sitting when the sound of keys in the door set their tails into hyper-wag mode.

Victor had been gone for nearly two weeks for his first work trip since Yuuri had moved in. Over the last year they had been spoiled with uninterrupted time together, enjoying every moment including the days of moving Yuuri's things into their home and Victor's work things into the office above Yuuri's store. Settling into life together had been a wonderful form of chaos, and Yuuri had loved every single minute it. Minus the last two weeks when he had to sleep without Victor in his arms.

It was perhaps that separation that had caused Yuuri to visit the town's jewelry store and had him returning to the same set of rings over and over. His sister and Phichit had each visited the store with him, agreeing with his choice and encouraging him to take the leap. In the end, it had been the visit Yuuri had taken with his mother that he put him over the edge, purchasing both rings while his mom stood teary-eyed next to him.

"Yuuri?" Victor called from the foyer, dropping his bag and coat, eager to tackle his entire family to the ground. Two weeks had been fourteen days too long to be separated from his boyfriend and their adorable dogs and Victor wanted nothing more than to somehow hug all three of them at once.

The sound of clambering feet made him smile and Victor dropped to his knees with his arms open, catching both dogs as they jumped at him. Being lavished by doggy kisses, Victor felt something poke his head and he curiously looked down at the sign hanging from Makkachin's neck. "Girl, what do you have…" He read the words to himself, rereading them repeatedly until he followed the arrow which he assumed was supposed to point to Gold. Catching his smallest furbaby by the waist, Victor lifted Gold up to examine the ribbon around his neck.

Quietly, Yuuri moved into the foyer, intently watching Victor's reactions. Getting down on one knee, Yuuri reached over to untie the ribbon around Gold's neck, catching the rings as they fell into his palm. Taking Victor's hand, Yuuri looked at him hopefully. "So… will you?" When Victor nodded enthusiastically, tears running down his face, Yuuri slipped the gold band onto his finger.

Trying not to openly sob, Victor took the other ring from Yuuri's hand and held it up. "And will you…" he asked, struggling to finish his question with his emotions spilling over. When Yuuri nodded, Victor slid the finger onto Yuuri's finger and then immediately tackled Yuuri to the ground. "I always thought I would be the one to ask," Victor babbled, kissing Yuuri over and over while their dogs joined in and climbed all over them.

"I wanted to surprise you." Holding Victor's cheeks, Yuuri smiled up at him. "Welcome home, Vicchan," Yuuri whispered, "sorry I didn't get a banner made." Together they started to laugh, arms holding each other close while they furbabies continued to nudge their way into the pile.

Yuuri finally got to his feet, kissing Victor again and heading into the kitchen to pull dinner from the oven. Victor watched Gold follow him, weaving between Yuuri's feet and making Yuuri laugh. Getting to his own feet, Victor picked his bag up from the floor and let Makkachin lead the way to their bedroom.

He passed the wall covered in pictures, starting in the center with the pictures from the day they first met Gold and spiraling out from there in a collection of all their memories from the past year. He tripped over Gold's favorite plushie in the hallway and scooted Makkachin's bone out of the way with his foot. Entering the bedroom, he saw Gold's blanket curled in its usual balled nest and Makkachin's stretched out over Victor's side of the bed. All of it little reminders of the home they had made together.

Sitting on the bed, Victor patted the space next to him, curling his arms around Makkachin's neck and burying his face into her hair. "I'm so glad you found your way to Yuuri," he said, lifting his hand to admire his new ring. "And thank you for helping me find my way to both of you."

Music floated in from the open bedroom door and Victor grinned immediately recognizing the song that he had associated with Yuuri since the very first day they met. If someone had told him a year ago that he would have two dogs, a fiancé, and be happier in life than he ever thought possible, Victor would have told them that they were nuts.

Now, his life was silliness, and a bit of chaos, and more love than Victor had ever known to hope for. Walking from the bedroom with Makkachin prancing behind him, he happily stepped into Yuuri's waiting arms and let himself be led around their living room as their dogs watched from their seats on the couch.

And in the little house with the perfect blue door, Yuuri and Victor found they had everything they needed to be happy for the rest of their lives.

 _Together can never be close enough for me_  
 _Feel like I am close enough to you_  
 _You wear white and I'll wear out the words I love you_  
 _And you're beautiful_  
 _Now that the wait is over_  
 _And love and has finally shown him my way_  
 _Marry me_  
 _Today and every day_

* * *

 ** _If you enjoyed this please consider checking out my other YOI fics! There are even more posted on Ao3 under the same user name :) Thank you for reading!_**


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